Enniskillen Foodbank has given away 6,771 foodbank parcels, enough to feed ten per cent of the population of County Fermanagh [63,585] according to food bank manager John Shades.

They have increased the number of parcels given out by 1,200, last year they gave away 5,500 from April 2022 to March 2023.

This means that every month since April 2023, 100 extra people have sought the support of the food bank according to Mr. Shades.

3,600 of those parcels are provided by Enniskillen Foodbank to give to service users of 79 other agencies who support people of all ages.

71.92 per cent of all parcels were distributed in Enniskillen while the pop-up food banks distributed the remaining parcels. Newtownbutler distributed 9.65 per cent , Belleek distributed 5.68 per cent of the total and Irvinestown distributed 12.74 per cent.

It should be noted that some residents travel to other locations with many travelling to Enniskillen, as they worry about stigma. 

Mr. Shades said: “ Enniskillen Foodbank is feeding more than ten per cent of the whole county, we are already up over a thousand this year and it is not yet the end of March [end of financial year] This has been our busiest year ever.”

The food bank is fighting hunger and there are people right across Fermanagh who are living with the reality of going to bed hungry at night or not knowing where their next meal is coming from.

The issue of food poverty is not new but it is on the increase, ten years ago a report in this newspaper detailed how Enniskillen Foodbank fed 542 families in 2013/4.

The volunteers at Enniskillen Foodbank are at the coal face of the fight against hunger, but hunger is not the only issue affecting service users explained Mr. Shades.

“It’s not just in terms of food, we give food but people come to us who are also struggling for fuel, electricity, how do they get uniforms, some will grants and stuff, but there are people that don’t get them.”

He noted that the Growbaby service ran as part of the outreach of The Lakes Vineyard Church which provides clothing and equipment for babies and children and has seen an increase in demand for their services.

Mr. Shades is reflective as he says: “I don’t know how people do it”

Recognizing the plight that is being felt right across Northern Ireland, Mr. Shades said: “When you put all that stuff together, is it any wonder where you see people with mental health struggles that they have or the addiction problems that they have, in every area of their life, they are on the edge of a precipice, everything is just ready to go.”

Usually, there is a sense of optimism when speaking to Mr. Shades and the team at the Enniskillen Foodbank. This week, there is a real genuine concern for the future and people’s livelihoods.

He told this newspaper: “I’d love to be able to tell you that I see an end coming to this, but I actually really don’t. If something doesn’t change and it continues to get worse, the thing with mental health is people are really at the edge, what happens when something pushes them over the edge?

He asks: “What will that look like, I don’t want to think what that will look like.

“I don’t have any real good news, the only good news is we haven’t been at the point where we’ve turned away people because we have no food, it has been close before we felt, if you look at an increase of 100 people every month, that’s hard to cope with.”

However, gratitude for those who donate to the service whether through their time as volunteers or those who bring physical donations to Enniskillen Foodbank and Growbaby.

“We couldn’t do it without them”, Mr. Shades concluded.