'It's definitely tight trying to budget on maternity leave'

Almost 50,000 households in Sheffield are struggling to make ends meet and cannot pay their bills, according to a new cost of living report by the council.

Described as having a "negative budget", these people are unable to afford the necessary costs even after all benefit entitlements have been claimed and their outgoings have been reduced to the bare essentials.

In the same week the report was published, a new food pantry opened in the Woodseats area of the city, offering low priced food for anyone struggling with the cost of living.

Within the first hour 14 people called in, with 37-year-old Sara Ody among those through the door.

"There's always a thought process, 'can we afford this? do we have to sacrifice this to be able to afford food, childcare and clothes?' It's definitely tough," she said.

The Community Grocery pantry, run in partnership by The Message Trust and Ikon Church at Woodseats, offers membership for £1 per year, with food and household staples from just 50p.

Sara said her finances were especially tight now she is on maternity leave from work.

"There's four of us now, and I've got to the point in my maternity leave where there is not really any money coming in, so it's definitely tight trying to budget, especially in the run up to Christmas," she said.

"It's frustrating because I saved up so much money while I was working to be able to still have opportunities and do things while on maternity leave, but you have to budget all the time.

"We're finding food is so expensive and every week it seems the prices are going up and up so things like this are amazing. We can get definitely some staple bits to see us through winter."

According to the report to Sheffield City Council, external, Citizens Advice estimates 47,500 people in Sheffield have negative budgets.

It says that poverty in the city predates the cost-of-living crisis and reflects longer-term inequalities in income, employment, health, housing and opportunity.

However, it says years of financial pressure have also left some households with depleted savings, debt and arrears, reducing their ability to absorb further shocks

It adds that children are particularly affected, with approximately one in three children in Sheffield living in poverty, "substantially above" the national rate.

John Lawson is the regional lead for The Message Trust, which has 35 stores nationwide, and is based in Sheffield.

He says community grocery stores can bridge the gap between food banks and supermarkets, as they offer a variety of food but at a fraction of the cost.

"We opened here after seeing the need on the doorstep and the challenges that people are facing with the cost of living," he said.

"Even a lot of the community who wouldn't necessarily have been struggling five years ago are now finding themselves living paycheck to paycheck."

The store is open to everyone and there is no means testing.

Lawson added: "We want to make it accessible for everyone, so if someone is passionate about saving food from landfill, they should shop here. If someone's in crisis and needs free food, they can come here.

"Or if someone just wants to be in the community, in an amazing space like we've got here, they can come and hang out.

"We want to create an opportunity and a resource where anyone can come and access healthy food and wraparound care so we can holistically look after the whole person with mental health support, debt advice, cookery courses or just simply offering a social space for people to come together."

Another customer Debbie Schofield, 44, said she thought the pantry would help people realise they are not alone.

"I think Woodseats needs this community hub where people can get some cheaper resources and have a chat somewhere warm," she said.

"I like the concept of the community pantry. I think everybody's struggling with the cost of living, everything has gone up quite considerably, but I also feel like social media isolates us in our own homes.

"I don't feel there's a sense of community like when I was growing up, like in the 1980s and 90s. It's really important for these pantries to exist because they bring neighbours together and then people in the wider community start to recognise each other."