When she came to the food bank, college student Charlotte had not eaten properly for weeks and could not afford gas to heat her flat. After leaving state care, she was funding herself through college, working two evening jobs, but was made redundant from both within a month. As a 21-year old in full-time education with no children, she does not qualify for benefits. She sold everything she had and, with nowhere else to turn, she asked her local councillor for help. They referred her to the food bank. When she arrived, she was ill, dehydrated and in the first stages of malnutrition.