Fundraisers, from left: Meera Smith, Chloe Teague and Jabina Uddin

STUDENTS have launched an online fundraiser for Islington’s struggling food banks.

The criminology students at City, University of London say food banks have become an essential part of student life.

“We’re doing a module called Social Action Project, where they basically wanted to prompt us to think of ways we could make social change,” said Meera Smith, 19, one of the students.

“We did a bit of research to see if there were any problems that were in Islington, and we found that loads of food banks are really, really struggling at the moment. There are not enough resources to go around, there’s over-demand, and people are really heavily relying on them. So we thought maybe we could raise a bit of money for them.”

She said that the rising cost of living has hit students hard.

“It’s because of the cost of living crisis that I can’t afford to live in Islington. I really struggled last year with rent alone, and my student loan didn’t cover anything.

“My parents couldn’t afford to help me out that much. As students, we don’t really have much time to earn a living, and the government doesn’t give us much money, so the cost of living crisis has meant we’ve really struggled, and I know for a fact that a lot of students rely on food banks,” said Ms Smith, who commutes from Kent into Northampton Square every day.

Chloe Teague, another member of the group, can’t afford to live in the borough either.

“It’s not like I want to commute from Hertfordshire, but I cannot afford to live here,” she said.

The group say that food banks give students a place to combat loneliness. “All of our teaching was online last year, so our first year was completely ruined. The only genuine friends that I have are people that I lived with last year.

“Now we’re in second year it’s really hard because friendship groups are already established, and going up to someone to just start a conversation is so difficult. People go to food banks to get a nutritious meal, but there are a lot of people that go to them because they’re lonely, the people there are somebody to talk to,” said Ms Smith.

Jabina Uddin, another member of the group, said that the judgement students face from their peers is a barrier to getting help.

“You wouldn’t want a rumour to go around that you’re poor, or that you need help from someone, so it’s really hard for students who rely on food banks,” she said.

As part of their campaign the group has also decided to volunteer with FoodCycle, which has a food bank in Finsbury Park.

FoodCycle chief executive Mary McGrath said: “Over the past few months access to surplus food has become harder.

“This is for a number of reasons. Food prices have increased, so reduced items that we might normally get are selling out faster; surplus food is being distributed in other ways, like being sold on apps, and supermarkets are seeing a shortage in supply of some fresh food items, which means stocks are limited and what they do have is selling out fast.

“This means that sometimes there isn’t any food left to donate, either to FoodCycle directly or the food distribution charities and organisations we work with.”

• Donations can be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/islington-food-banks-social-action-project