Cambridge City Foodbank experienced record-high usage in the month of December, a source told Varsity. Over the course of the month, 1560 people were supported with emergency food parcels – a 24% increase on the same time in 2021. 

The foodbank also found that across 2022, 13,580 people had to receive assistance from Cambridge City Foodbank, and 4 in every 10 of these people were children. Last November, it was reported that Cambridge City Foodbank had seen its highest demand levels in its entire 12 years of operation. In November, Trussell Trust warned that food banks were at “breaking point” and predicted a tough winter to come.

Along with food bank usage, homelessness is also increasing in Cambridge. A new report from Shelter, the homelessness charity, has warned of a bleak start for 2023 - with at least 271,000 people recorded as homeless in England, including 123,000 children. 

Interactions between Cambridge’s homeless population and the student organisation, Streetbite, reveal the sad reality of life in Cambridge for those living on the streets this winter. 

Claire Gao, a volunteer at Streetbite, told Varsity that she knows  “a lot of homeless people in Cambridge rely on donations” and other welfare programmes, warning that “council resources are really overwhelmed, and for emergency housing especially the waiting list can be months.” 

Max Earle, the organisation’s co-ordinator, also stressed the social isolation that homeless people in Cambridge experience. He told Varsity, “rough sleepers may feel that despite sharing the street with the rest of the general public, they’re not a part of it and they aren’t welcome among non-homeless society”. This social divide between the student population of Cambridge and those less fortunate is something that Streetbite is working to tackle.