Inside the baby bank ‘at full capacity’ in London’s richest borough

In a cosy room in West London, a small army of volunteers are busy setting out baby clothes, fresh food and Christmas toys ready to donate. On the phone, a staff member chats with a young mum about the children’s warm jackets they have on offer.

There’s been a 40% increase in requests for help during winter at this health and wellbeing charity set up to support the local community, and while the gowing pressure of the cost of living crisis is sadly nothing new – this centre, is in the swanky Royal Borough Kensington and Chelsea.

Nearby you’ll find London’s most expensive street Kensington Palace Gardens, where houses go for upwards of £14 million – yet the charity, called The SPACE, is at full capacity.

The story behind the centre sits just another mile away: the remains of the Grenfell Tower, where 72 people lost their lives due to ‘systematic dishonesty.’

The SPACE was launched in the wake of the tragedy, with founders inspired by the overwhelming wave of solidarity which came from the local community as they supported each other.

‘I was metres away from the Grenfell Tower on the night of the fire,’ CEO and founder of the charity, Samia Badani, tells Metro. ‘I am still coming to terms with living with PTSD, it still feels raw,’ she says tearfully.

‘But when you witness a human tragedy like Grenfell and see how people were abandoned by the system that was meant to care for them, you know this is a catalyst for systemic change.’

One person impacted by that change that the charity has brought to the community is Daria, who lives in West London. Her life, and finances, took a drastic turn when she was informed she was having triplets in 2023.

She’d been under the impression she was having twins, so when doctors told her a third baby had been ‘hiding’ behind the others, she was in shock.

‘I just said “oh my god” over and over,’ Daria, now 31, tells Metro. ‘I started looking at triplet buggies and three cots and other stuff, and slowly began to process things a bit more. I never want to say my children are a burden, but financially I’ve had my difficulties. There’s only so much you can prepare and there’s always costs you don’t expect, like how quickly babies grow out of clothes.’

The triplets – all girls – arrived very early at 29 weeks in April. Daria, who lives in West London, was overjoyed but soon became exhausted by breast-feeding. She needed extra support and found it at the NHS who gave her a brand of formula milk called Nutriprem, specifically for premature babies, on prescription.

‘When I first reached out for the formula, the prescription took a while,’ Daria continues, her nine-month-old babies gurgling in the background as she speaks.

‘So I went out and bought a tin myself. I was desperate, I wasn’t sleeping well and had to wake up every two hours to pump which had taken its toll on my body. The first tin I bought cost £17, it [the cost] was terrifying. The babies would go through it in three or four days, and I felt really nervous about how I was going to calculate and work around the cost. 

‘Thankfully, the NHS prescription took a huge weight off my shoulders, I saved well over £1,000. It was genuinely a lifesaver. If I’d had to pay myself, I would barely have had anything left. Formula should be free, it’s essential. What kind of sacrifices are mums expected to make if they can’t afford it?’

It wasn’t cost effective for Daria – a former healthcare manager and single parent – to return to work either, as childcare costs would outweigh her salary.

‘Statutory maternity pay is less than half of what you’re usually making,’ she sighs. ‘I worked with somebody who paid £900 a month for nursery fees and she only made £1,200 at work. So she only had a few hundred to cover food, bills and clothes.’

Daria also had to take matters into her own hands when her prescription of formula milk came to an end this year.

One of her triplets breastfeeds, the second relies on formula and the third does a mix. Thankfully, she was able to receive support from the SPACE, which has distributed £159,840 worth of formula to vulnerable parents and £3.6M in household essentials since 2021.

Over the years, the charity has supported 30,000 babies and children under the age of 6 and expanded into 24 of London’s 32 boroughs as demand grows.

‘During the Covid pandemic we conducted welfare checks and realised there were a lot of families who couldn’t afford essentials like formula,’ Samia says. ‘That’s why we launched the first baby bank in Kensington and Chelsea in 2020.  

‘You wouldn’t think it being the royal borough that you would see such a high level of deprivation, but there’s a huge disparity.’

The majority of mums at The SPACE still feel embarrassed about not breastfeeding, Samia adds, even if the reason is for health reasons like Daria.  She feels the lack of adequate funding to sustain the health visitor model – where a medical professional would visit a new mum at home and support them – has made families feel ashamed of reaching out for help.

Samia, a mum-of-two, is standing with Metro’s Formula for Change campaign which aims to shine a light on just how unsustainable the cost of the product is for new families.

‘We’ve heard stories from parents who’ve had to dilute formula milk to make it last longer,’ she explains. ‘It’s heart-breaking. And contrary to what people think, this is an issue that also severely impacts on working parents who can’t afford formula milk. If a mum cant breastfeed, there is no substitute.’

‘There’s still that notion that people are falling through the net,’ adds Smia. ‘At the Space, we are a lifeline to thousands of people but we can’t change the world on our own. 

‘We need a reset, a new model where the public sector can be more responsive and ensure that people at the point of crisis can be helped as quickly as possible or in partnership with charities like ours who are on the ground.’ 

Daria doesn’t just get formula through the charity, she says she also gains a sense of community every time she wanders over with her three young daughters.

‘It’s a safe haven. There’s a natural bond with the other mums there even though we all come from different walks of life,’ she explains. ‘Dads can help so much, but no-one can empathise with you in the same way as another mum.’

While the cost of essentials for Daria is constant anxiety, she wouldn’t change her situation for the world. Her triplets are her joy and each is developing a personality already. The smallest, the one who ‘hid’ behind the other two in early scans, has ironically become the ‘loudest and most energetic.’

Daria adds: ‘While things can be overwhelming and stressful, I always try to make a point of focusing on the magic and the beauty that comes along with motherhood. I am so grateful for the support I’ve received at the SPACE.

‘Baby banks help so much but they need better funding so they can provide more and mums don’t have to make as many sacrifices.’

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