Demand for Mustard Tree’s food club service has quadrupled since we entered lockdown in March 2020
A poverty and homelessness charity is still grappling with the fallout from the pandemic – nearly six years after the virus broke out.
Demand for Mustard Tree’s food bank service has quadrupled since we entered lockdown in March 2020. The Manchester-based charity raised concerns as the Covid-19 UK Inquiry’s final module – examining impact on society – begins hearing evidence on Monday.
Jack Barton, the charity’s head of communications and impact, told the Mirror: “Before the pandemic we had roughly 10 to 15 people using our Ancoats food club a day and now we have about 60. Professor of Public Health Michael Marmot said it would be a tragic mistake to go back to the status quo after the pandemic – but here we are again.
“We’re seeing more Section 21 evictions than ever before and inequality is still rising. Parts of Greater Manchester have seen life expectancy fall. People were just about keeping their heads above water coming out of the pandemic and then the cost of living crisis put them straight back under again.”
When Britain went into lockdown, staff at Mustard Tree bandied together to deliver up to 150 emergency food parcels to households across Greater Manchester each day. Service users ranged from families with young children living in temporary accommodation to hard up pensioners. Many had no cooking facilities or a proper place to sleep.
The charity is calling on the government to take urgent action. Jack continued: “We need to look at poverty like Covid – because that emergency response at the time was incredible. If we can do that for Covid, why can’t we do that for all the consequences of poverty and homelessness now?
“These inequalities and the true extent of poverty already existed before the pandemic, but covid 19 uncovered it and exacerbated it to a much greater degree than anyone thought, and we’re still dealing with the fallout.”
Module 10 of the inquiry will focus on the impact of the pandemic on key workers, the most vulnerable, the bereaved and our mental health and wellbeing. A total of nine roundtables took place between February and June 2025, with each exploring a different theme.
In addition, nearly 60,000 personal accounts from members of the public were gathered through the inquiry’s Every Story Matters initiative. Director of human impact, communications and engagement Lizzie Kumaria said: “I travelled around the country hearing directly from a huge number of people about how the pandemic impacted them.
“The experience was very emotional – it was a real honour that people wanted to share their stories in this way. It’s one of the best things about the inquiry – it’s given people a chance to tell their story. Something that really stood out was the profound impact on the public’s mental health.
“The closure of leisure and sports facilities in particular meant a lot of people didn’t have that outlet to go and exercise or connect with other people. Isolation and loneliness was a key factor – the lack of connection with neighbours, friends, colleagues and family was really a big loss and particularly so for those who were bereaved.”
To find out more about Mustard Tree and donate, visit here.
