Volunteers at Frenford Foodbank getting deliveries ready to be dispatched to Redbridge residents.
- Credit: Irfan Shah
"I never envisaged the foodbank would still be running in January" - the words of Irfan Shah capture the mood of all those who volunteer with Frenford Foodbank.
It was set up in direct response to coronavirus, but it’s clear the need for it won’t end when the pandemic does.
No doubt Covid-19 has shone a brighter spotlight on poverty in the borough. But the Recorder’s interview with co-founders Irfan and Genevieve Carnell emphasises an uncomfortable truth: this degree of deprivation was here before coronavirus, and it’s likely to exist long after.