One in 25 households in Milton Keynes cannot afford to buy enough food, charity reveals

Around one out of every 25 households in Milton Keynes cannot afford to buy even basic food at times, the city’s food bank has revealed.

This represents at least one child in every class, one household in every street and one in most workplaces.

Since the Covid pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis, demand has surged for MK Food Bank’s services and every week about 50 people are contacting them for the very first time. Many of these are people who have never had to ask for help before.

In the first half of 2023, the food bank has already given out over 15,000 food parcels and equivalents. This is 50% more than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, with most households feeling the pinch, donations to the food bank have dropped dramatically.

"As the cost of food rises our donations are sadly going down. We’re now only receiving around half of what we need to supply this demand, meaning that we are having to buy thousands of pounds worth of food every month,” said a spokesperson for the charity.

They have now come up with an innovative way of upping their supply – and breaking a world record at the some time.

‘MK Can’ will take place on World Food Day, Monday October 16, in and around Campbell Park. There, MK Food Bank will attempt to smash the current world record for the longest line of cans of food.

They are aiming for an ambitious target of 132,000 cans over a 10km line and they are mobilising the whole of Milton Keynes to help achieve this.

The route will be divided into 25 metre-long sections, which businesses, schools, local councils and community groups can sign up to adopt.

"By supporting a section of the line, any MK-based business or group can be part of this once in a lifetime event, helping the Food Bank support thousands of households in crisis, and putting our city on the world map,” said the spokesperson.

A number of high-profile supporters have already committed to join MK CAN - A World Record Attempt but there is still room for many more.

As well as business and community groups taking part, members of the public are also invited to play their part by funding 5, 10 or 20 cans to add to the line. In return they will be able to take part in a celebration event on the day, where they can ‘walk the line’ and enjoy a range of entertainments along the way.

If successful, this initiative will provide over half of the canned food the Food Bank needs to support families and individuals in our local community for an entire year, forming a large part of their winter contingency plan to cope with the ongoing cost of living crisis in our community.

Find out everything you need to know about the record attempt here and sign up using the MK Can online form before the deadline of September 15.