Food bank usage has sharply increased over the past few years due to ongoing financial struggles affecting numerous households across the UK.
According to the charity The Trussell Trust, in the past year alone, their food banks “provided over 3.1 million emergency food parcels to people experiencing hardship. More than 1.1 million of these parcels were given to children.”
This became a stark reality for many mothers and their children who relied on regular visits to their local food bank to put food on the table. Here we explore the stories of individuals whose incomes were insufficient to cover basic needs. Faced with the exhaustion of depending on food vouchers and the kindness of others, they made a decision: to create a profile on an subscription site and begin selling provocative photos.
This choice has since had a profound and lasting impact on their families’ lives.
Rebecca Goodwin
Rebecca Goodwin has emerged as one of the UK’s most successful adult performers in recent years, despite starting from a place of severe hardship.
The 30-year-old mother of two from Derbyshire faced significant challenges as a single parent for a considerable period. She candidly shared that there was a time when she couldn’t afford baby formula when her youngest child was born.
Facing financial hardship, Rebecca resorted to using food banks to ensure her family had enough to eat while she juggled mounting bills and the looming threat of social services intervention.
Feeling overwhelmed, she took what she described as a “huge gamble” by joining an adult subscription site in 2019, just as it began to gain popularity during the lockdown.
“I had a lot of guilt over the things I couldn’t provide for them,” Rebecca explained.
“We were living on six bags of food, full of tins of soup and lots of Uncle Bens for over a month. I couldn’t even afford formula for my baby. I knew it was a massive risk but I was desperate.”
“I had asked for my third food voucher and they had talked about getting social services involved because I was struggling. I knew I had to give selling photos a try.”
That daring move has indeed proven immensely lucrative for Rebecca. She now earns as much as £100,000 per month from selling risqué photos and producing adult content.
With this newfound financial stability, Rebecca has been able to support her children, now aged six and 13. She has purchased a £230,000 four-bedroom house and a £45,000 Porsche.
Motivated by her past struggles, Rebecca is determined to give back to others facing similar challenges. She plans to construct eight houses that she intends to rent out to low-income families.
Lola Mason
The Christmas season was tougher than usual for Lola Mason, a young mother.
Being a teenage mom meant she struggled financially, yet she faced the responsibility of providing for her family at a young age.
During the festive season, Lola had to rely on food banks, which was a stark reality for her. Due to her spinal deformity preventing traditional work, she decided to become a webcam model.
Now, after a decade, this choice has completely transformed her family’s life.
Reflecting on her journey, Lola shared, “I couldn’t work because of a deformed spine and being a teen mum, my partner worked hard and I was on disability benefit for a while when my pain was really bad.”
“Money just never went far and we were always short. The moment I had to get my Christmas dinner from a food bank I knew I needed things to change, that’s when I turned to webcamming.”
“I still remember they gave me tinned potatoes, veg, gravy and stuffing in a little cardboard box and delivered it, they were so happy to help.”
She continued: “My stress levels were through the roof, I felt like a failure. I knew things would change though, you had to remain positive in those times. It was one of those moments you wake up and decide you can’t keep going like this.”
“Family life is tense, there’s constant money issues, I didn’t want to rely on the system. I muttered the words ‘f**k it’ that day and started signing up to adult websites to start camming.”
Initially, Lola didn’t earn much, but her steady rise in the adult entertainment industry has turned her into a seven-figure earner.
She now boasts a property portfolio worth £1 million and owns several luxurious cars. Despite her success, Lola remains connected to her origins and, like Rebecca, rents out some of her properties to low-income families.
During Christmas, Lola and her family indulge in supermarket shopping trips to “eat like pigs.”
Madison Fox
Madison Fox, a former Co-op employee, took on part-time shifts at the store when she became pregnant. She had to quit her stripping job to make ends meet. However, the resulting drop in income posed significant challenges for the now 33-year-old.
From maxing out credit cards to facing the threat of homelessness, Madison struggled to stay financially afloat. These pressures eventually led her into a severe depression.
During the initial years of her son’s life, Madison relied on food banks to get by. However, everything shifted when a friend suggested she start an adult account.
She shared: “I started it because me and my son were living off of food banks. I got in a lot of debt as couldn’t afford to pay for things so knew this was the only way to support me and my son. [I used foodbanks] for about three years.”
“I ended up maxing out credit cards and getting loans just to keep a roof over mine and my son’s head and then was struggling to pay it all back.”
Since then, Madison hasn’t turned back. Her son is now nine years old, and she can provide him with a “comfortable” life, enjoy holidays, and celebrate in a “nicer” way.
She earns over £30,000 annually by collaborating with various adult stars and posting provocative solo photos on her profiles.
The mum explained: “I’m able to live a comfortable life with my son and do the things we have always wanted to do so it has changed my life for the better.”
“We can now afford days out and go on holidays we have nicer Christmases and birthdays.”
