A cross-party group of Sheffield councillors have set up a questionnaire to find out more about food poverty in the city.<\/p>\n
It aims to hear directly from people affected by the issue, including how easy they find it to access support and what else needs to be done to help.<\/p>\n
The manager of the S6 food bank, Chris Hardy, said people using their service had risen from 8,000 to 40,000 since March 2020.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI fundamentally believe every child should be able to grow up to be whatever they want in this world, whether it\u2019s a Prime Minister or an astronaut.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut every day they miss a meal it affects their ability to do that. Food poverty means children who are already disadvantaged become more disadvantaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three-week consultation was set up by the council following a suggestion at an overview scrutiny management committee about the need to have a fresh look at food poverty.<\/p>\n
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Mr Hardy continued: \u201cIt\u2019s the fault of the government. The universal credit \u00a320 payment needs to be increased. There should be a cost of living for everybody in the country that it doesn\u2019t go below.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever your income is lower than the cost to live, you\u2019ll always need food banks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coun Douglas Johnson, involved in the scheme, told The Star: \u201cIt\u2019s partly in light of the pandemic but partly because it has such a devastating effect on people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m on the working group and I pushed for this public call for evidence \u2013 I wanted it in the broadest terms, so that people could tell their own stories and suggest their own solutions rather than be led by councillors and officers with a predetermined view of what we expected to hear. It\u2019s really fundamental.<\/p>\n
“The most helpful thing that councillors can hear is people\u2019s direct experiences and worries about not having enough food for the family.”<\/p>\n
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