by It’s not unusual for a 23-year-old grandmother to go to bed hungry. In fact, she can go without food for several days.
It’s not something she does out of choice. The cupboards are bare, she has no money for food and the debt collectors are set to visit her house any day now. It is a never-ending struggle in which the 51-year-old spirals into a pit of despair.
“I try to take each day as it comes, but I found myself where I couldn’t get out of bed because I can’t see beyond anything other than the situation I’m in,” the woman, who He has 23 grandchildren, said the Manchester Evening News.
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“I can’t do that because I have a grandson to support. I try to face each struggle as it comes. When I think about these things, I just break down, because I don’t know what else to do.”
The grandmother, who lives in the Leigh area of Wigan and asked to remain anonymous, says she really started to struggle financially last year. Despite cutting back on everything she could, from walking everywhere to just buying the basics, it wasn’t long before the grandmother was able to pay her bills.
“We were struggling a lot,” said the mother, who cares for one of her grandchildren. “Things were getting very difficult. Prices were going up and up.
“I used to say all the time you could go into the supermarket for a tub of margarine for £1, then go in the next day and it would be £2. Everything was suddenly doubled.
“I noticed last year that prices were going beyond unreal levels and shopping was becoming difficult. I would walk instead of catching the bus, saving £2 there and £2 return. It wasn’t much, only £4 at the end of the day, but it could go towards something. That’s how it started.”
She decided to access her local Family Support Fund last year when her dire financial situation spiraled out of control. The Family Support Fund is a pot of money made available to local councils, with the money distributed to those struggling with bills or on low incomes.
Although she says she wouldn’t know where she would be without the security, uncertainty about her future has left many Brits fearful recently with the fund set to expire on September 30.
The high cost of living scheme has been extended five times from 2021. And there is a chance it could be extended again – meaning millions of families could be entitled to one-off payments or vouchers this winter.
The grandmother, who used to own a cafe, says the thought of losing her vital source of income scares her. “I only accessed it a few times,” she said.
“They send food vouchers to the food banks, it’s about £10, it doesn’t sound like much but you can get a lot of food. They are a great help. You can also get £20 a week for gas and electricity. When you need that, and you don’t have anything, it’s really important.”
Although she recognizes that some people may abuse the system, she always makes sure that she only accesses the service when she has no other choice.
“I heard he might be leaving, and I’m not going to lie, it worried me,” she said. “He has nothing to fall back on if you need him.
“It can be a struggle, it can. Through no fault of our own the cost of living is going up. I don’t work; I get benefits. I was sad to see him go to be honest.
“We don’t want to have to use these services. I have worked all my life since I was 15. I had my own businesses. This is a situation I never thought I would be in.
“I try not to use it too much; we do the best we can. I understand that it is a limited fund. I know a lot of people who abuse the system, but I don’t want to be that person. There’s going to be people out there who need it more that week than I do.”
The usual form of help from the Family Support Fund is usually one-off payments or energy and supermarket vouchers.
The service was set to end on September 30 – but reports from the Financial Times and the BBC suggest the Exchequer may extend it again. The Family Support Fund was introduced at the height of the cost of living crisis in October 2021 with initial funding of £500 million.
She also has access to the non-profit lending company Fair for You. The organization was established to provide finance to families who do not have access to mainstream credit so that they can purchase items for their homes directly from manufacturers. Her grandmother used the service to shop for food and buy white goods.
Despite the much-needed help, she says she is struggling to pay the £5,000 she owes her gas and electricity company and is expecting a visit from debt collectors in the coming days.
“I’m still struggling with debt and I have a visit on my doorstep,” she said. “It’s just a bit of a mess.”
The grandmother says she is in so much trouble that she is even going without food for days – but says she hates having empty cupboards when her grandchildren come to visit.
“I can go without food for a few days. I do not recognize hunger. That’s what I do when there isn’t enough.
“One of my sons came and opened the fridge and said, ‘It’s empty, your cupboard is empty,’ I had the basics like milk and margarine. I might have a few tins in my cupboard.
“I have no regrets for my grandson or my grandchildren. That’s when Fair For You came in, I could go and treat them. It’s a hug in your wallet; that feeling of comfort knowing you have that support.
“You had to rummage through my cupboard to find things. Now, I’m finding that’s no longer the case.”
A government spokesman said: “This government will tackle the poverty divide by making sure work pays and by improving support to help people get into good work. Further details of the Family Support Fund will be set out in due course.”
