New figures from a British food bank charity show that a staggering 760,000 individuals in the UK used food banks within the past 12 months.
The report by the Trussell Trust reveals that the cost of living has hit British households hard, resulting in the “highest ever levels of need” seen by food banks within the charity’s network.
The report notes that the network distributed almost 3 million emergency food parcels in the past year, marking the highest number of parcels distributed in a year. More than one million of these parcels went to children.
In the South West the total number of food parcels distributed was 247,850.
The report indicates that the level of need has surpassed even that seen during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people found that their income did not cover basic essentials like food and heating.
Furthermore, the number of people using food banks for the first time between April 2022 and March 2023 was 760,000, and December 2022 set a new record for food banks’ busiest month, with a food parcel distributed every 8 seconds.
Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, called the new statistics “extremely concerning.”
“These new statistics are extremely concerning and show that an increasing number of people are left with no option but to turn to charitable, volunteer-run organisations to get by and this is not right. The continued increase in parcel numbers over the last five years indicates that it is ongoing low levels of income and a social security system that isn’t fit for the purpose that are forcing more people to access food banks, rather than just the recent cost of living crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic.
Food banks were set up to provide short-term support to people in an emergency, they are not a lasting solution to hunger and poverty, and more than three-quarters of the UK population agree with us that they should not need to exist.
The staff and volunteers in our network are working tirelessly to ensure help continues to be available, but the current situation is not one they can solve alone.
For too long people have been going without because social security payments are not based on a real reflection of life’s costs and people are being pushed deeper into hardship as a result. If we are to stop this continued growth and end the need for food banks then the UK government must ensure that the standard allowance of Universal Credit is always enough to cover essential costs.”
