An increasing number of people with mental health problems are being forced to use the country’s food bank, raising concerns about their long-term welfare.
“We are seeing more and more referrals from the mental health sector; institutions such as Mount Carmel and other related community clinics in various localities,” Foodbank Lifeline Foundation manager Barbara Caruana said.
Around 400 people are currently on the books of the food bank, designed as a short-term solution for emergency situations. Some 250 people last week turned up for their three meals a day.
The Foodbank, whose major sponsor is The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, is a “short-term solution” to help people get back on their feet. But Caruana said she has felt the need to change and prolong this in some cases.
While the overall number of users has dropped from last year, the increase in the number of people with mental health needs has “set alarm bells ringing”, Caruana said.
Her question to the mental health institutions has been: “What happens after their third referral? Do they fall through the net?”
The answers are not clear, she said.
Generally, people can use the Foodbank Lifeline services for six weeks as a short-term solution to make sure people are fed in an emergency.
But some can remain on its books for much longer and requests for extensions are not always questioned.
About to launch its Reverse Advent Calendar – the Foodbank’s main campaign to bring in the much-needed food supplies and keep up stocks for the tough winter months ahead – Caruana said many users are now approaching them directly for help.
For me, it is obvious there is a need if you knock on our doors
“Pre-COVID-19, people would be referred through a social worker. Then they started knocking on our doors directly and we did not turn them away.
“For me, it is obvious there is a need if you knock on our doors,” Caruana said.
She said there was a decrease in summer, possibly due to a rise in casual work opportunities as pandemic-hit tourism picked up again.
The Foodbank Lifeline normally sees single mothers and families with one breadwinner and with financial struggles, be it as a result of a benefit delay, low income, ill health, housing issues or homelessness.
At the peak of the pandemic, a ‘roofless’ pack was also introduced, containing items that just needed the addition of hot water, Caruana said, adding that the number of people who were living in cars has now declined again.
The trend, however, is that, come winter and Christmas, the numbers start climbing slightly, she continued, pointing in particular to September when schools reopened. She is baffled how “hotels and restaurants are desperate for workers, yet we still have the numbers”.
“Is it because these people are unable to work due to their mental health issues,” Caruana asked.
Reverse advent calendar
The Foodbank Lifeline Foundation’s annual initiative, sponsored primarily by Izola Bank and relying on donations from the public, aims to bring the community together to help the hungry.
It offers an opportunity for families, businesses and schools to get involved, highlighting the constant challenge to make sure the shelves of Malta’s only food bank that gives directly to people in need are stocked.
Manager Barbara Caruana urged the public to grab a box and place one item in it for 24 days to create a complete Reverse Advent Calendar, which also has an educational element for children.
Supplies collected from last year’s Reverse Advent Calendar only lasted until March, unlike previous years, where the foodstuffs kept the bank going until September, despite similar quantities being collected.
The food bank began from a small store within Valletta’s St Andrew’s church but now has operations in Marsa and has seven other distribution points, two vans, a full-time manager and about 40 volunteers.
For more information on drop-off points and other ways to help, visit foodbanklifeline.com/RAC.