A North Tipp based Food Bank says the pressure people to make ends meet has grown significantly this year.
The Nenagh Community Food Bank is a voluntary service which provides food parcels to those in North Tipperary who are struggling to make ends meet.
Based at Loretto House on Kenyon Street it’s the brainchild of Sandra Farrell.
She told Tipp Today earlier that things have gotten more difficult though the year.
“Unfortunately its actually got worse – usually summer we get slower. We didn’t think food poverty was such a big issue around here during the summer but during the summer our numbers shot up. And that’s not from people from other countries coming in – that’s our own here on the ground.
“Today here at the Christmas Food Bank we’ll give out about 200 food parcels – this time last year we were probably only doing about 120 – 130 so that’s 70 extra families that are coming today.”
Sandra says praise from politicians for the work of the food bank rings hollow.
“You know it’s amazing at Christmas they all talk about it, they all say we’re wonderful. But I’d like to throw it back to them – well what are you doing? We shouldn’t have a food bank in Nenagh. People shouldn’t be queueing in Dublin at the Capuchin Centre.
“It’s grand for the politicians and people having ‘oh you’re wonderful’ but we should not exist.”
