Empty Cupboards

Single parent Chrissy came to our Foodbank on a biting cold morning needing help and our hearts melted at her story.

A few hours earlier she had been walking her sons to kindergarten and school and they passed a
man sleeping under a blanket on a mattress out in the open.

Is that a bad man, the 5-year-old asked her? No, he’s just a bit lost, Chrissy told him. Seeing him alone in the cold made her think she still had much to be grateful for. 

And yet … after her last son was waved through a school gate, Chrissy travelled across the city to us to get food for them. 

When we asked what she had left in her cupboards, she thought for a moment, and said scone mix. That was it.

How she got to the point of having empty cupboards is a similar tale with slight variations we hear
from many people.

These families are just getting by, just making it through each week. Then something unexpected happens and because they have no reserves they fall quickly into crisis. Bills that must be paid come first and food is seen as the expendable cost.

Chrissy is on a benefit and has serious health problems. She had to pay two bills in two days and that knocked her off the tracks.

“My dad had given me some money for the power and there was a wee bit of credit but I used that to buy some winter clothing. So I didn’t have enough money for the $300 power bill.

“I also had to pay a $150 bill to put internal locks on my house because one of my sons runs away. I needed the locks to protect him because the road is busy outside our house. I was so worried he would be hurt and sometimes I might not hear him going.”

It was money she had budgeted for food that she used to get through.

“Without power we are frozen. I have many health problems and the boys can’t be sitting in a cold house.”

She said she didn’t have any food reserves because she had boys who “don’t keep their faces out of the cupboards”. 

Another sign of how close to the breadline she is was that she relied on the kindy lunches some of her boys got to get her food budget through the week. As she was saying this she suddenly looked embarrassed as she realised what she was saying out loud and it hit home to her how tight things were and how it shouldn’t be like that.

When the boys were at home all day her food bill soared and she struggled. 

“My mum is in a bad way with mental health and my dad is in a bad way with his health but they help me how they can. That hurts as well when you are in your thirties and having to ask your parents for help. It’s very horrible.”

Chrissy said if she was by herself she could probably get through, but she had to look after her boys. 

“It’s really about the boys. I can’t let them go without. The worst feeling as a parent is not having things sorted for a week with food. Not having that security is so upsetting.”

Financially it’s a struggle. It’s just the way it goes. Thank you for your help. It’s very beautiful, I would be lost without it.

“I’m just very grateful that I have had support from the City Mission.” 

*Name changed