Diary entry, The Magic Money Tree
1st June 2023, Bristol
It was my second visit to the food bank in Ebenezer Church Hall on Filton Avenue. I’ve been to several food banks. This one has a good set-up: pairs of chairs and a small table in clusters across the large hall, with a baptism pool at one end and the food store cupboard at the other. ‘Clients’ sit down with a volunteer who goes through the food list with them. Unlike many other food banks I’ve visited, people get a choice. The atmosphere was warm, welcoming and sociable, mixed with sadness, anxiety and a brokenness of spirit. People get more than food. It’s community care. Everyone is offered a hot drink, there’s a table of home baking and snacks. The place reminded me of jumble sales and toddler groups from my childhood. Today, people were there because they can no longer afford to buy food. I was there without my camera, talking to people, recording their experience of the cost-of-living crisis, as they waited for their food parcels.
I spoke to Natalie. She is 46. She tells me how the staff are friendly and welcoming. She tells me she has a terminal illness. At the time, it didn’t quite register. Did she just say that? But there’s lots to say and she quickly moves on. “I’ve been in and out of hospital a lot. I'm caring for my disabled child as well. She’s fully disabled. So, it’s hard and I’m really struggling. They’re just sorting out my PIP at the moment. The doctors want to put me on a high rate because of my health. It’s taking time to sort it out. I’m only living on £300 a month, and that is because I'm not getting PIP until they sort it out. They stopped my £300 Universal Credit. So I’m trying to keep my disabled child going on that, my son and my grandchild that I’m bringing up, she’s five, and myself, so it’s hard.”
I think about the lack of care for a woman at the end of her life who is caring for her family. Who’s looking after her?
From The Magic Money Tree, published by Bluecoat Press. https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/the-magic-money-tree/