Charlie Clift paperwork the significance of meals banks in the course of the pandemic
When the corona virus arrived in the UK and we finally went into the lockdown, photographer Charlie Clift found that his regular work had stopped. "I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I started thinking about how I could use my photography forever," says Clift. "I started volunteering at the Food Bank near my home, the South London Food Bank Warehouse to report. "
There Clift experienced the huge amounts of food that came and went, and the warehouse shipped more than a ton of food every day. “The people who had been there for a long time told me about the massive increase in demand that they had seen since the virus appeared – in some cases the stock they would normally need for a month has now disappeared in just a week . For many people it was already a reality to only get enough to eat, ”explains the photographer.
All Photos: Food Bank by Charlie Clift
Clift wanted to shed light on what he saw during his volunteer work and began photographing the food bank he was working in, a local church in Streatham that was being converted into a warehouse. “Donations arrive, are sorted, repackaged and then delivered all over South London. It is managed by around 80 volunteers who are supervised by some employees, ”says Clift.
The Food Bank series also covers the Bonny Downs Food Bank in East Ham, which he learned about from his agent, who volunteered there during the pandemic. "Bonny Downs took a different approach to coping with the virus and kept its drop-in service open to food banks to continue to support the large homeless community in the region," said Clift. "I went there to meet some of the volunteers and people they helped."
For Clift, it was important not only to record the food banks themselves, but also to tell the stories of the people who receive the food packages and use the drop-in service. "I hope the pictures feel honest – I wanted to show the situation as it really is. I mainly used the light that I found on site and took into account the feeling of every place I was: the beams falling through the church windows in the South London Warehouse and the hard ceiling lights in Bonny Downs Community Center “Says Clift. “By focusing my camera on a bag of pasta or a glass of mayonnaise alongside the portraits, I want to make it clear to you that people have difficulty getting the most basic products. Place this image next to a powerful portrait and the problem is hard to ignore. "
The portraits are a mixture of people who have agreed to sit for Clift (some distance away, of course) and people he has met in the food bank. The range of people who met was different, but all had difficulties and were affected by the pandemic in different ways. For example, Clift mentions Anna, whom he met through the South London Warehouse. She is a qualified healthcare professional in a private company whose genetic disorder means that she is classified as vulnerable and can no longer see patients face to face. "Her income disappeared almost overnight when she suddenly received statutory sick pay," says Clift. “She only gets £ 95.85 a week and cannot cover all of her living expenses. The food bank was vital to them. "
Clift also heard many difficult stories in Bonny Downs in just one day. “Maruf and his family have no recourse to public funds. Due to their visa situation, they cannot work and cannot claim any benefits. I met Jade, who is homeless because she had to flee an abusive relationship. I met many people with insecure jobs who lost their income overnight when so much of the economy was shut down, ”explains Clift.
“But I also saw love and community and heard the positive stories from people who changed their lives. Like Paddy, who used to be homeless and had problems. Then the Bonny Downs Center helped him and he got up again – he now works in the same center and supports others. There are real heroes out there who give up so much time to help people. "
This glimmer of hope and optimism make Clift's series so convincing and the entire experience was a learning curve for the photographer. "I learned a lot about my community. It was great to meet and chat with the other volunteers while we were moving canned beans around the warehouse," he says. "I learned that people want to get involved in their community help others and like to be busy and useful. "
Before he volunteered, Clift knew how many of us, not how many, had problems. "When I arrived and stacked shelves, I couldn't believe the huge pile of beans in the warehouse, then I came back a week later and they were all gone, the shelves were completely empty. Then the scales hit me," says Clift.
His hope for the series is to raise awareness and encourage those who can donate and help their community. “You can donate money to them online Trussell Trustor leave some extra items in your supermarket dropbox, ”says Clift. “If you want to get more involved, please do so. Volunteering is incredibly rewarding and really makes a difference. "
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