Food bank charity seeks Government action

THE cost-of-living crisis is driving food banks to “breaking point”, with almost 1.3 million emergency parcels given to people in hunger over just six months, a leading charity has said.

The Trussell Trust issued the stark warning yesterday, after new research showed record-breaking levels of need, with one in five individuals referred to its network now coming from working households.

According to figures from the charity, which provides urgent support to those in poverty, more emergency food parcels were given out during the April to September period than ever before.

Over the last six months, 320,000 people have been forced to turn to food banks for the first time, it added. Nearly 1.3 million food parcels were handed out by food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK network over the same period – almost half-a-million of which went to children. This is double the number provided in the same timeframe before the pandemic and a third more than were given out between April and September last year.

Need is now exceeding donations for the first time in the charity’s history. Emma Revie, the Trust’s chief executive, said: “These new statistics show that, even in summer months, people are struggling to afford the essentials and we are expecting that this winter will be the hardest yet for food banks and the people they support. This is not right. We are calling for the Prime Minister to act decisively in next week’s budget.”