We are increasingly seeing the hardship people in our community are experiencing and we would like to invite you as someone we work with who will also be seeing this, to join your voice with ours to call for change for people experiencing hardship in our communities, as detailed below.
Lichfield Foodbank is seeing shocking levels of hunger and hardship in our community. We are backing the call by Trussell for an Essentials Guarantee to ensure that everyone in our community can afford essentials and does not have to choose between heating and eating.
We know that it is often the low amount of Universal Credit payments that drive people to need emergency food and our support more broadly. Indeed, Trussell’s data shows that, across the UK, 70% of people needing to turn to a food bank in their community are receiving Universal Credit.
Many of you in local organisations, churches and charities will also be seeing at first hand the devastating impact that our inadequate social security system is having on families and individuals in our community.
Trussell are organising an Open Letter to our local MP, Dave Robertson, to be signed by individuals working in organisations, charities and faith groups. The Open Letter calls on MPs to take action to ensure that our social security system protects our community from going without the essentials.
Will you sign the Open Letter and add your voice to our call for change? (You can see a copy of the text below.)
The more signatures we can get from people working or volunteering in local organisations, the more powerful it will be when we share it with our MP.
If you would like to be added as a signatory to the Open Letter, please can you complete the form linked HERE to confirm that you give your consent for us to include your name and the name of the organisation where you work/volunteer for. There is also a postcard section on the form, where you can add specific comments for our MP.
Please note Trussell have advised you are not signing on behalf of your organisation, but by adding who you work for we are able to show the MP that there is support from a range of experts within our community.
The deadline to sign up is 31.5.25.
We will collate all the signatories and present the Open Letter along with the postcard comments to our MP in mid-June. Representatives from Lichfield Foodbank will be attending the Lobby Day organised by Trussell in London on 18th June to present these to Dave Robertson.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us as we work closely as Community Campaigners with Trussell and Lichfield Foodbank.
Kind regards, Maria & Tom
Open Letter text for information:
We are deeply concerned about the number of people in our community experiencing hunger and hardship because they cannot afford the essentials.
Many of our organisations help people by creating warm and welcoming spaces, providing advice and essential items and working together to foster a strong, supportive network for local people.
Our social security system should be there for us all when we need it most, but right now it’s not even providing enough to cover the cost of life’s essentials - driving hardship and hunger in our community.
Anti-poverty charity Trussell’s data shows that across the UK 70% of people needing to turn to a food bank in their community are receiving Universal Credit. This includes many of the people we support in your constituency - because Universal Credit doesn’t cover the cost of essentials, and is pushing people to need our support. Research shows around a quarter of the costs of essentials aren’t covered by the basic payment.
We won’t stand by and let this continue. And we know what will make the biggest difference – updating our social security system.
We are calling on you, as our MP, to work with us to help secure the changes that would help ensure our social security system protects our community from going without the essentials.
Maria Pavey & Tom Pratt
Community Campaigner
01543 386053
07907707662