Soaring demand for Horsham food banks

Demand on Horsham’s food banks increased by 87 per cent during the past two years, new figures from the Trussell Trust have shown.

The charity says it’s witnessing an accelerating crisis across the UK as the need for emergency food dramatically increased in the past six months. This follows the £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit and the soaring rise in living costs that people are facing.

New figures released yesterday (Wednesday) reveal Horsham food banks provided a total of 5,458 parcels in 2021/22, of which 2,436 were to children.

In 2020-21 demand peaked with 8,506 parcels being distributed, with 3,816 of those going to children.

This compares to 2,918 given out in 2019/2020, before the pandemic struck. In that year, 1,132 parcels were given to children.

Analysis by the JPIMedia data team shows that in 2020/21 Horsham distributed 3,752 parcels per 100,000 people and was ranked 26th in the South East.

But the difference between the figures in 2019/20 before the pandemic, and 2021/22 shows a shocking 87 per cent increase in demand.

The Trussell Trust says its food banks managers are now warning of an accelerating crisis across the UK following the cut to Universal Credit, as the cost of living continues to soar. It is urging the Government to bring benefits in line with the true cost of living.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “People are telling us they’re skipping meals so they can feed their children. That they are turning off essential appliances so they can afford internet access for their kids to do their homework.

“How can this be right in a society like ours? And yet food banks in our network tell us this is only set to get worse as their communities are pushed deeper into financial hardship. No one’s income should fall so dangerously low that they cannot afford to stay fed, warm and dry.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the pressures on the cost of living and we are doing what we can to help, including spending £22 billion across the next financial year to support people with energy bills and cut fuel duty.

“For the hardest hit, we’re putting an average of £1,000 more per year into the pockets of working families on Universal Credit, have also boosted the minimum wage by more than £1,000 a year for full-time workers and our Household Support Fund is there to help with the cost of everyday essentials.”