'It's definitely tight trying to budget on maternity leave'

Key points

• A Sheffield council report says 47,500 people in the city have negative budgets.
• A new community pantry in Woodseats offers membership for £1 a year.
• About one in three children in Sheffield live in poverty, the report says.

Almost 50,000 households in Sheffield cannot pay their bills and are struggling to make ends meet, according to a new cost of living report by Sheffield City Council. The report describes these people as having a negative budget, meaning they cannot afford necessary costs even after claiming all benefit entitlements and cutting spending to essentials.

In the same week the report was published, a new food pantry opened in the Woodseats area of the city, offering low priced food to anyone struggling with the cost of living. Fourteen people called in within its first hour.

What the report found

The report to Sheffield City Council says Citizens Advice estimates 47,500 people in Sheffield have negative budgets. It says poverty in the city predates the cost-of-living crisis and reflects longer-term inequalities in income, employment, health, housing and opportunity.

Years of financial pressure have left some households with depleted savings, debt and arrears, reducing their ability to absorb further shocks, the report says. It adds that children are particularly affected, with approximately one in three children in Sheffield living in poverty, substantially above the national rate.

It's frustrating because I saved up so much money while I was working to be able to still have opportunities and do things while on maternity leave, but you have to budget all the time.

— Sara Ody

Inside the new pantry

The Community Grocery pantry, run in partnership by The Message Trust and Ikon Church at Woodseats, offers membership for £1 per year, with food and household staples from just 50p. It is open to everyone and there is no means testing.

John Lawson, regional lead for The Message Trust, which has 35 stores nationwide and is based in Sheffield, said community grocery stores can bridge the gap between food banks and supermarkets by offering a variety of food at a fraction of the cost. He said the store opened after seeing the need on the doorstep, and that many people who would not have struggled five years ago are now living paycheck to paycheck.

Sara Ody, 37, said her finances were especially tight on maternity leave. Debbie Schofield, 44, said she thought the pantry would help people realise they are not alone.