The announcement to close food banks comes as thousands of appointments at hospitals, funerals, museums, supermarkets and theater performances have already been canceled for Monday and amid rising inflation and high costs. The Stoke-on-Trent food bank was among the first on Tuesday to announce the decision to close its three distribution centres. Branches in East Elmbridge, East Grinstead, Grantham, Ringwood and South Sefton were among others to follow suit. Keynsham in Bristol also said there would be no food bank sessions at the Key Center on September 19 (Monday). The decision comes as the government announced the day will be a public holiday to allow people across Britain to pay their respects to the Queen when she receives a full state funeral to mark her life. Several social media users expressed anger and sadness at the decision, questioning why it was important to close food banks amid a cost-of-living crisis. “Closing a food bank for the Queen’s multi-billion pound funeral is heartbreakingly ironic,” said Twitter user Joshua Jones. Another user, podcaster Jess Davies, said the Queen would have found the decision ridiculous. “Closing of a food bank. Cancer appointments are cancelled. Parliament has been out of order for four weeks at the center of a cost-of-living crisis. I’m not really sure that’s a respectful way to treat the British people and I’ll bet the Queen would find it ridiculous too,” she said. People’s backlash forced the Trussell Trust, a not-for-profit organization that supports a national network of food banks, to defend the independent decisions of distribution centers and warehouses to close for the day. A spokesman for the trust said most of the charities are independent and have been given the choice to close or remain open on the day of national mourning. “The food banks are all independent but we’ve emailed saying it’s a public holiday and they can decide what to do,” the spokesman said. “It really depends on the local needs on the ground, volunteers will know if it’s particularly quiet on a Monday or if it’s a busier day.” Outrage from some people, however, has led to some food banks backing down on their decision to close. The Trussell Trust’s Wimbledon branch deleted its tweet announcing the closure and said “due to the overwhelming support we have received we now have volunteers to run our session on Monday as usual”. “The food banks in our network hold sessions on different days and times,” said Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust. “Food banks are best placed to make the right decision for their communities and will ensure that everyone who needs support can access it, as they do every Bank Holiday. “As each food bank is an independent charity, we encourage people who need support to contact their local food bank to check their opening hours.”
