'When we first started the social supermarket four years ago, we never could have imagined that things would ever get to this point'
An East Belfast social supermarket says that it is seeing more working families than ever as the cost of living crisis impacts households across the city.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Christina Henderson of In This Together, said that the rising cost of living is impacting every household in the city and that more and more working two parent families are coming to them looking for help when times are tough. "People are just not able to cope with the constant rising prices and bills and we have seen an increase in two parent working families coming to us for support and there are some households, particularly if there is someone with an illness, who are finding it tough everyday.
Christina said that In This Together has six members of staff and 20 volunteers who dedicate their time to helping others in their community, with the social supermarket operating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with service users paying £3.50 to do their shopping. Christina continued: "We are noticing that there are some in our community, usually older men, who are having problems with social isolation and loneliness and the warm spaces are a good way of bringing people together for an afternoon to have a cup of tea and a good chat.
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