London’s most unlikely food bank is on the doorstep of the City, the city’s financial heart. You have to look for a long time to find the organization Food For All, nestled in the underground parking lot of an anonymous building, in a small dead end street.
Going down the ramp designed for delivery trucks, we arrive in a damp warehouse, dimly lit by string lights, where an indescribable chaos seems to reign. A huge four-meter sculpture, depicting a human with the head of a lion, decorated with sequins and colored lights, welcomes visitors.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. Here we are entering a veritable food distribution machine, which feeds 2,000 people a day at 40 distribution points. “The demand is constantly increasing. The skyrocketing cost of living is the biggest emergency right now,” says Peter O’Grady, founder of this extraordinary charity.
This 58-year-old “old punk”, follower of Hare Krishna, welcomes us to his lair where a dozen volunteers are active on this Saturday afternoon in February. Human warmth and the smell of Indian spices compensate for the austere aspect of the place: one has the impression of entering a forbidden, “underground” place, which is literally in the basement of London. “Why are we here? Because it doesn’t cost us too much rent, we have a good deal smiles Peter O’Grady.
He and his team have been running this soup kitchen since 1988. He started by feeding a handful of homeless people by collecting donations from restaurants at the end of the evening. Over the years, the charity has affiliated itself with major food banks in London. Donations from companies and illustrious patrons like Chrissie Hynde, singer of the Pretenders, or Liam Payne, of the group One Direction, complete the financial picture.
Food For All’s “customers” have changed their faces over the past three decades. They are no longer necessarily itinerant, but rather low-wage workers, students, refugees, single mothers, retirees struggling to pay the electricity bill. Middle-class people, sometimes.
“Before, students had the means to eat, to pay the rent and their monthly public transport card. Not anymore. For many people it is eat or heat [la nourriture ou le chauffage]. I even have a 58-year-old friend who has gone back to live with his mother! says Peter O’Grady.
The explosion in the cost of living is one of the greatest concerns of the British. More than the political crisis that is shaking the government of Boris Johnson, the risks of war in Ukraine, waiting lists in hospitals or even the pandemic, which no longer makes headlines in the United Kingdom.
Food and accommodation have never been so expensive. The electricity and natural gas bill is likely to increase by 54% starting in April. Economists predict inflation of 7% in the coming months, unheard of for decades. Interest rates have also started to rise, which will leave even less money in the pockets of workers.
As elsewhere in the world, disruptions in production and supply chains due to the pandemic are largely responsible for the crisis, according to economists.
“It’s awful. In Canada, you have truckers demonstrating against sanitary measures. I think that here, we are going more towards riots to denounce the cost of living, “said Ralph Urban, a retiree who came to volunteer at Food For All.
He is about to board the van which criss-crosses the city to distribute meals to community groups. Before leaving, Ralph Urban fills up with fuel: he savors a vegetarian curry cooked in the mythical giant pot of his friend Peter. Volunteers eat for free at Food For All. It should not be said too loudly, but beds are also offered informally to those who need them. The bowels of Ali Baba’s cave are full of resources.
That afternoon, a dozen young people came to peel potatoes, cut carrots, slice onions, put away sacks of flour, go on a delivery tour by bike, sweep or wash the dishes in exchange for a bowl. of Indian curry. Students, workers, coping with the ups and downs of life in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Some clients and volunteers require social services. Are you also a social worker, Peter? “All we can offer are words of comfort and a few jokes,” he says between calls on his old, not-at-all-smart phone.
Survival 101
After saying goodbye to Peter O’Grady and his friends, who continue to work in their underground lair, we are dazzled by the light of day. The sidewalks of the City are crowded with walkers taking advantage of the day off.
Nearby, in the gentrifying neighborhood of Clerkenwell, a young couple observes the houses for sale displayed in the window of a real estate broker. A loft at 1.5 million pounds sterling (2.5 million Canadian dollars). A 750-square-foot, $1.4 million mini-home. A $2.7 million brown brick townhouse. Very pretty residences, but we are still not talking about Windsor Castle, where Her Majesty the Queen and her suite live.
“We look at what we will never be able to afford. It’s like we’re no longer welcome in our own town,” the man said with a sigh.
Poor and middle-class people can no longer afford to live in London, unless they are lucky enough to get their hands on social housing. It is also said that retirees who bought a house in the last century, before the price explosion, are forced to sell because they are not strong enough to pay municipal taxes.
A veritable “cost-of-living survival” industry is taking shape. Experts offer advice to Londoners who want to go into exile in the region, or to foreign students tempted by British universities.
The financial services company Wise published a guide in August 2021 highlighting the advantages for expatriates of settling in Cardiff (Wales), Edinburgh (Scotland) or Belfast (Northern Ireland) for get more for their money.
The monthly cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in central London is estimated at £1662 ($2860). For three bedrooms, the rent climbs to 3188 pounds sterling ($5490). At these rates, it may be better to rent accommodation near a soup kitchen to be able to eat.
This report was partly financed thanks to the support of the Transat-International Journalism Fund.The duty.