Quakers open ‘warm banks’ as costs rise
‘We are furious that we have to do this, that people don’t have a basic income that allows them to make their own choices about where to go and where to eat lunch.’
Quakers are offering Meeting houses as warm spaces, as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
As households struggle to cope with electricity and gas prices, Friends from Exeter, Ilkley and Cheltenham have set up community spaces, including kitchens and social evenings, to offer warmth and support.
Alison Mitchell, of Exeter Quakers – who are opening their Meeting house on Thursdays offering free drinks, soup, homemade biscuits and WiFi – said: ‘We are furious that we have to do this, that people don’t have a basic income that allows them to make their own choices about where to go and where to eat lunch.’
She added that the Exeter Quaker Social Café had proved beneficial in unexpected ways, offering a welcoming social space each week.
Ilkley Quakers are also offering a warm games evening, while Warwick Place Community Kitchen, run once a month by Cheltenham Quakers to offer food, is doubling as a warm space.
Alex Clark, of Cheltenham Quakers, said that the confidential ‘pay as you can’ model meant diners met on equal ground. She added: ‘It shouldn’t be necessary to do this, and it is just a part of a bigger problem. But there is always a need for people to come together, and it has been wonderful.’
The action came as people in Britain face a difficult winter, as the energy bills and cost-of-living crisis bites. Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), wrote to Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister, urging him to enable the retrofitting of buildings for energy efficiency. He also encouraged the new PM to tax fossil fuel companies to ease costs for UK households, invest in renewable energy and support those affected by severe climate impacts.
Paul Parker said: ‘Quakers believe everyone is equal in the eyes of God, and therefore as a society we have a moral responsibility to respect and care for the most vulnerable.
‘In twenty-first century Britain no one should be hungry, cold or destitute. There are solutions, we urge our government to consider them.’
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.