Mum tells how Stortford's food bank helped her bounce back from rock bottom

A desperate mum given a helping hand by the Bishop’s Stortford food bank has spoken out in support of the charity.

Katy Chapman, 45, decided to share her story after reading about a surge in demand for its grocery parcels in the town.

She now works at Waitrose supermarket in Northgate End, but in February 2017, she was at rock bottom.

She suffers from major depressive and severe anxiety disorders and was receiving support from the town’s CAB in South Street when she confided in an advisor that she had no food for daughter Asha, then a student at the Herts and Essex High School.

Katy said: “I had nothing in the cupboard, no milk, nothing in the fridge. I had not eaten for a few days.”

The CAB is one of the organisations which can send recipients to the food bank at the Methodist Church in South Street.

Katy said: “I found the whole thing about being referred to the food bank was embarrassing, I was ashamed of myself. It’s one of those things, the perception of people who go to the food bank is people who cannot be bothered to help themselves.”

In fact, Kay was working part-time with the town’s street pastors and had a lodger to help make ends meet when she reached breaking point - and she believed there were many others in the town existing on a knife-edge.

She said: “Over the years I have gone from having spare money to not enough to pay the bills, even with a lodger. It gets harder and harder to manage.”

When she plucked up the courage to visit the food bank, she was greeted with the offer of a hot drink and a biscuit by its caring volunteers - and made to feel welcome and valued.

She said: “The team are amazing.”

She was so overwhelmed by their kindness, she decided to share her experience on Facebook. Many of her friends had not realised how badly she was struggling to provide for Asha, now a 19-year-old live-in groom in Hatfield Heath, and she received more help and support.

Earlier this month, Mione Goldspink, chairwoman of Stortford's food bank, said pleas for help have become increasingly urgent over the past six months. Where previously volunteers helped 45 to 50 people per month, numbers are now closer to 80 and stocks of supplies are exhausted.

For Katy and her daughter, the parcel of basic groceries including pasta, margarine, a jar of fruit and toilet rolls they received was just enough to get them back on track. A few biscuits gave a much-needed boost to morale.

Katy said: “I’m just a massive fan of the food bank. It’s a community coming together to help those in need.”