Food bank charity says December is busiest ever

The charity that runs hundreds of food banks is expecting December to be its busiest month ever.

The Trussell Trust said its network of more than 400 food banks provided almost 160,000 three-day emergency food supplies in December last year. That was a 49 per cent increase for the monthly average for 2017-18.

The figure was 10 per cent up on December 2016. The trust said the use of food banks had been increasing this year.

The inability of benefits to cover essential living costs and issues with payments remain the most common reasons for people being referred to a food bank, the trust said.

The five-week wait for a first Universal Credit payment had made matters worse, said the charity.

The trust’s chief executive Emma Revie said: “Christmas is supposed to be a time for joy, but what we’re seeing is the festive period becoming increasingly stressful for more and more people across the country.

“Our benefits system is supposed to protect us all from being swept into poverty, but what we’re seeing is people struggling to heat homes and put food on the table because they simply cannot afford the basics any more and that just isn’t right. In the short term we’re urging the public to donate generously during the first part of December and into the new year.”