We might be at a literary festival, but in fact we’re at a food bank in northeast London, where eager readers have just collected emergency food parcels. AdvertisementHolly started coming to the food bank two years ago when she needed help and now volunteers there herself. “If Bookbanks wasn’t here, obviously the food bank would still run but you would notice, you would feel it. £1,500 could cover the set-up costs for Bookbanks to open in a new food bank. It costs, on average, £500 per month to run a weekly two-hour Bookbanks stall inside a food bank.

Source: The Times October 11, 2025 19:01 UTC