Almost 60 families a week depend on the Food Bank in winter

Mary* has been sitting on the doorstep of 120, Old Bakery Street, Valletta since 4.45pm. A large shopping trolley bag is by her gnarled feet. Her face is worn with worry, but she has a patient look about her. She’s first in line today at the food bank, a good 45 minutes before opening time, so she’s pleased with that. Once a month Mary, who is in her late 60s, takes the bus from Tarxien, where she shares a hovel with eight other members of her family, and trundles into Valletta to collect a food pack from Foodbank Lifeline Foundation – enough to feed her family for a week. She’ll have a very heavy load to carry back home, up the steep hill of Old Bakery Street all the way to the terminus, and her aching legs are causing her particular concern today as she has stopped taking medication because she cannot afford it. Mary smiles disconsolately as she shows her empty purse. “I don’t have a single cent,” she points out. “I am overdue on the rent and next week I have to pay the electricity bill. I don’t know how I am going to manage. I have to choose between feeding the family, or buying medicine for my legs. I have stopped buying the pills for now. My blood pressure is high with all...