The constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill, a densely populated area on the eastern edge of the city, has the unfortunate position of being one of the most deprived in England.

It has the highest fuel poverty rate, the highest child poverty rate, the second highest unemployment rate, and ranks second lowest on the index of deprivation.

As the cost of living crisis bites, it is the people living here who are most likely to feel the brunt.

“We are being hammered,” said Pat Woolridge, a volunteer at the Ward End Elim church food bank. “We’ve been open 10 years on this site, and it’s the hardest that it’s ever been. By the end of the day, we’re exhausted. We’re spending quite a lot of time putting people back together and showing that we see them, we hear them.”

In November the food bank fed 608 people, up from 369 in November 2021.

Woolridge said more than 80% of the people using the food bank now had never been to one before, and most of them are in work. “They might be able to pay their rent, but there’s nothing left for food or fuel,” she said. “We’ve had people come in where we’ve had to give them sweets straight away because their blood sugar is so low.”

On a cold Wednesday afternoon in December, one first-time food bank user joining the queue was Colin, 62, who had recently lost his job at a crematorium.

“I’ve had to resort to this because I haven’t had any money off social security yet and everything is going up at the moment,” he said. “I live alone, so I can wrap up with quilts and jumpers [to keep bills down]. My main concern is paying rent.

“My fridge is empty, my freezer is empty, so I thought I’ve got no choice now, I’ve got to stop being so stubborn. It’s my birthday this weekend and I don’t want to have nothing to eat.”

The food bank is seeing rising demand for its “kettle packs”, made up of food that can be cooked using only a kettle. These are mainly for people who are trying to cut down on usage of high-energy appliances such as ovens, but also an increasing number of families being evicted and placed in hotels where a kettle is all they have access to.

“We’ve had quite a lot of people saying they cook and use their oven once a week, because that’s all they can afford,” said Woolridge.

Furthermore, the food bank has seen a sharp drop in donations as people have less money to give.

“There were a lot less harvest donations this year than we’re used to,” said Suzi Lea, the food bank coordinator for the area. “A number of schools have said to us they’ve not asked the children [for donations] this year, because their parents are just not in a position to give.”

The constituency’s MP, Labour’s Liam Byrne, said he had had to change the services his team offer, and he now has a number of staff members who devote their time entirely to collecting for food banks.

“We now have dedicated staff working on food bank collection, and we’re having to put together a huge amount of advice now on just what financial help is available,” he said. “Demand for our help has always been high, but it’s getting higher.”

Byrne added: “If you told me 20 years ago that as an MP you would spend more time trying to keep people warm and fed than anything else, I’d have been amazed.”

He has recently launched “Operation Compassion” to rally support in the local area, and on a Friday morning he was visiting a local primary school that had collected three crates of food. “The depths of compassion that we have in these times of need continues to be utterly humbling,” he said. “I just wish an ounce of that was shared by some of the wealthier folks who run the country.”

At the other end of the constituency is Shard End, where on a Wednesday morning in freezing temperatures, a number of residents gathered at the Welcome Change community centre for the weekly lunch club. For £5 they receive breakfast, hot drinks, a cooked lunch and a morning of activities.

Joanne Cook, 48, said the club provided a welcome opportunity to keep warm. She does not have a central heating system at home, only a gas fire, which she has stopped turning on to keep costs down.

“My bills are skyrocketing, we can barely afford them any more,” said Cook, who lives with her partner, a woodworker. “We don’t put the gas on any more. We just stay under the duvet and blankets. Even the dog comes in with me.

“I’m trying to cut down how much food I buy, and sometimes go without,” she said. “Sometimes I get to the till and haven’t got enough money, so I get embarrassed and put stuff to one side.”

Victoria Shread, a community services manager at the charity, said they were seeing soaring demand for financial help.

“In the last four or five months, we’ve really see the need of people wanting fuel vouchers, help with their bills, and people getting evicted because they’ve not paid their rent,” she said.

“I don’t think people are realising there will be a huge fallout from this, from people not being able to heat their homes, people not being able to afford to go and have a coffee with their friends. So places like this I think have a massive impact on people’s lives at the moment.”