Busiest month ever for UK food banks

The Trussell Trust has reported a worrying 89 per cent increase in need for emergency food parcels during April 2020 compared to the same month last year.

The figures include a 107 per cent increase in parcels going to children compared to last year, with the charity also revealing that the number of families with children receiving parcels has almost doubled compared to the same period last year.

Now, a coalition of charities, including the Trussell Trust, IFAN, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Children’s Society, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), StepChange and Turn2us, are urging the government to act quickly in providing a stronger lifeline to people to prevent many from being swept into destitution. With schemes, such as the Coronavirus Jobs Retention scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, set to wind down over the coming months and other measures proving to be insufficient, the charities say further action is urgently needed to ensure no one is left behind during this crisis.

The coalition says a first step should be to make sure local authorities in England have enough funding to provide emergency cash grants so money can be put directly into people’s pockets quickly. An increase in funding to local authorities in England would help bring the government response on this type of support closer to that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “We have been seeing rises in food bank need for the past five years but this 89% increase – with the number of families coming to food banks doubling – is completely unprecedented and not right. People need to be able to put food on their table. The government must put urgent support in place to ensure people already struggling to keep their heads above water can stay afloat. We have outlined what we need our government to do – it’s in our power to protect one another, we’ve seen it during this health crisis, and we need it to continue during this economic one.”

Jonathan Reynolds, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, responded: “These figures are a worrying sign that as the Covid-19 crisis progresses, families are still falling through the gaps in the safety net, especially as the largest increase was in parcels for children. The government risks exacerbating already unacceptable levels of child poverty in the UK. While existing changes to Universal Credit are welcome, the government must take further, urgent action to make sure that no-one goes hungry during the crisis.”