Reliance on food banks is disturbing austerity marker

THE growth in food banks has been one of the most disturbing symptoms of austerity and an all-party parliamentary report has now provided further evidence of the scale of the problem.

The report found the number of food banks run by the charity Trussell Trust in the UK has grown from a handful a decade ago to 420 now, about 50 of which are in Scotland.

There is no single explanation for this trend, as both the unemployed and people in work use food banks, but the report has identified a number of important factors, including the rise in the cost of living, flat-lining pay and, for those out of work, delays in benefits or the imposition of sanctions which mean welfare payments are suddenly stopped.

All of these factors and more mean families can suddenly find themselves without the money they need to buy food.

Food banks are, in the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Charitable Trust – which funded the report, shock absorbers of society, and it is only by tackling the shocks and their causes that the need for food banks can be reduced. The biggest shock of all is the reform of the welfare state – between a half and two-thirds of those who use food banks do so because of benefit sanctions and delays. The welfare system must have sanctions built into it, but they are sometimes applied without warning and much better administration could help poor and vulnerable claimants.

The idea of a traffic light system that avoids money being stopped overnight has particular merit, but payments should be made as quickly as possible to avoid people with rightful claims having to go for weeks with little or no money.

However, the food bank story is about more than welfare – it is also about in-work poverty. Pressure on wages, combined with the growth in zero-hours contracts, mean there are some people who have a job but still sometimes cannot afford to buy food.

Only by looking at raising the minimum wage, or introducing a living wage, can that be tackled.

There are other possible solutions. Children can often go hungry because of chaotic lives at home and it also noted some families lack basic cookery and food management skills. To address this, food banks should be helped to offer advice on good, healthy food, cooking and management.

Reducing waste should also be part of the solution. It cannot be right that some families are relying on food banks while the food industry is throwing away perfectly good food.

An organisation that would work to ensure less food is wasted and more of it goes to food banks is a good idea, but food banks are likely to remain a necessity until the UK Government lives up to its obligations on low pay and maintaining the social security safety net where it is genuinely needed.

There is a desperate need for food banks in the UK – the Government’s mission should be to ensure that one day there is no need for them at all.