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During the past 5 years in Britain the number of people turning to foodbanks has more than tripled. Under the current Conservative government the number of foodbank users has reached more than one million.


In 2015-16 the number of people given a three-day emergency food supply by the Trussel Trust foodbank network alone was 1,109,309. To get this food people have to have been referred by other agencies such as social workers, doctors, teachers, citizen advice bureaus, homeless hostels etc.


In 2015 four foodbanks in Hackney, East London, supported 3,215 hungry people, all of it food donated by private individuals or local businesses. Foodbanks are independently run charities and not part of the government's benefit system.



 "Voices from the Vault" is an ongoing project started in spring 2015 by photographer Kristian Buus, giving a voice to people who find themselves at a foodbank.


Each interview is a few minutes long and the portraits and videos are photographed and filmed on location at the foodbanks in Hackney.


Everyone is unique and the following stories uncover issues such as ATOS and their questionable physical assesments, mental illness, housing benefit caps and being failed by a benefit system no longer focused on helping those in need.



Miss D is 60 and had

to stop working in 2014 on medical grounds

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All work © Kristian Buus 

www.kristianbuus.com kbuus@kristianbuus.com

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Anthony O'Donnell had 2 pounds left for the next 8 days

on the day he was photographed

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Tom, 24, has suffered from depression for years due to a violent upbringing. He is gay and can't tell his family out of fear of a violent reaction

Mover curser over images to see captions.

Click images to enlarge.

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Click for more information on The Trussell Trust

Click to go to the Hackney foodbank 

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"Who needs a foodbank"?

Explained by foodbank manager Liza Cucco.

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