Fears are growing amongst some of the Harrogate district’s most vulnerable people ahead of a record increase in gas and electricity bills in April.
Customers at community grocery shop Resurrected Bites and people who use the Harrogate District Foodbank, say they have been “having sleepless nights” over the price hike.
One man, whose food budget for the entire month is £30, said he had just received his renewal quote for energy and it was up to triple the original amount.
Another woman, who uses a pre-pay metre, said she was preparing to cut back and put on some extra clothing to keep warm if necessary.
Resurrected Bites is a Harrogate and Knaresborough-based community organisation aiming to reduce food waste and food poverty.
One of the customers at the organisation’s grocery shop at New Park Primary Academy, told the Stray Ferret about the impact it would have.
The man, from Harrogate, who works full time and has a six-year-old daughter, said:
“I have had to take advantage of the Citizen’s Advice Warm and Well scheme, which has tided me over, hopefully until the minimum pay rise in April.
But I’ve just had my renewable quote for energy and the variable rate is double what I’m paying now and for fixed, it’s triple. So the extra money I will receive will just be swallowed up.
“I don’t know what is going to go on. I think I’m just going to have to wait until April when it actually happens and just take a view on it or hope that the politicians do something more, because at the moment it’s just not a viable option for many people.
“My food budget for the month is £30, including coming here, and that’s for me and my daughter. That will just be gone with any kind of increase. What do you do? Luckily it’s coming into summer.”
Resurrected Bites provides a ‘lifeline’
The customer, who did not wish to be named, said organisations like Resurrected Bites, which also runs ‘pay-as-you-feel’ cafes in Harrogate and Knaresborough, were a lifeline to those in need.
The community grocery store sells good quality donated food to people on a low income for a small cost, that would otherwise end up in landfill. It often sees between 30 and 40 customers coming through its doors in one day.
The man began using the service after separating from his daughter’s mother, who receives all the available benefits due to being listed as the main residence.
Resurrected Bites’ community grocery store at New Park is a lifeline to those in need.
He said:
“It’s brilliant. I can work out what my meals are going to be. So for example, last week I got some sausages and a turnip and then I’ve cooked them all yesterday and that’s my next three or four meals. I usually make my meals in advance. That way if there are a couple of days where you run short, there’s always something in the back like the odd Pot Noodle.
“You come here on a weekly basis to stock up. The fruit and veg is brilliant, as not a lot of people eat as much as they should do and it fills a gap.”
The price hike comes after the energy regulator, Ofgem, lifted the maximum rate that suppliers can charge for an average duel-fuel energy tariff by £693 — an increase of 54 per cent.
This is to reflect the fourfold increase in energy market prices over the last year.
Volunteers at Resurrected Bites’ New Park Community Grocery Store.
New Park community grocery manager Sophia Clarke said customers, who come from a variety of different backgrounds, were worried about the impact it would have.
She said:
“There are a lot of people who are coming in to sign-up in preparation for the fact that once the energy bills rise they are not going to be able to feed themselves.
“One lady I spoke to said she was going to lose her house because she couldn’t keep up with mortgage payments and the bills rising.
“I don’t think anyone knows the full extent yet, but we are here to help people and offer advice and support.
“People are just getting back on track after covid and are now being faced with this. When you’re struggling to feed yourself and your children, this is not good news for the many.”
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Foodbank fears
Over at a very busy Harrogate District Foodbank, at Mowbray Community Church, on Westmoreland Street, one woman said she used a pre-pay meter to avoid getting into trouble with her bills.
She said:
“If I can’t afford heating, I don’t have it on. If the bills get too much in April, I’ll just have to put a woolly jumper on or wrap a duvet around me.
“I’m topping the meter up as much as possible in preparation. I’m okay at the moment but when it goes up, I don’t know what will happen. Luckily warmer weather is coming. I don’t know what I would have done if it had happened in the middle of winter.”
Harrogate District Foodbank at Mowbray Community Church, Westmoreland Street.
Another man, who suffered with mental health problems, said he was worried that his landlord would put his rent up as a result of the price hike.
He said:
“I’m worried about it. If it goes up, I’m going to struggle financially again. That makes me anxious. I suffer with my mental health and I’m on benefits and this just plays on my mind. You’re always thinking about it.”
Dawn Pearson, project manager at Harrogate District Foodbank.
Dawn Pearson, project manager at the foodbank, which also provides help and support for people in Knaresborough and Starbeck, said more support from the government was needed.
She said:
“We find with clients coming in that they tend to get some help, for example Universal Credit, but it’s not enough to cover their bills. Or if it is just enough and something unforeseen goes wrong, then they are in debt again. It’s a vicious circle, they never seem to get above where they should be and it’s sad.
“A lot of people are saying they can’t have the heating on or they are only having it on a couple of times a week, or a couple of hours a day. That’s why people are here because they don’t have enough money for food.”
