The Trussell Trust, the charity operating most of the UK's food banks has warned that demand for its services is likely to rise by 61% this Winter. That is equivalent to having to give out six extra food parcels every minute.
The claim is made in the report Lockdown, lifelines and the long haul ahead: The impact of Covid-19 on food banks in the Trussell Trust network produced by the charity working in partnership with Heriot Watt University.
Research carried out to produce the report suggests some.846,000 emergency food parcels will need to be provided by the trust to meet demand during October and December.
Many of the families receiving those parcels will be turning to a good bank for support for the first time as the pandemic takes its toll on their finances.
The report suggests that as a result of the pandemic 670,000 more people could become destitute, meaning they are unable to afford essentials such as food, housing and energy costs.
Figures produced by The Social Metrics Commission and reported by the London Economic in June show that 14million people in the UK are living in poverty. Out of these 4million are trapped in 'deep poverty'.
The same article cites data from The Money Charity showing that 3million UK households have just £1,500 in savings and up to 10million have no savings at all. Having to self-isolate would be likely to cause these households to experience severe hardship.
The Women's Resource Centre has drawn attention to government figures showing that 100,000 more children were living in poverty in 2017/18 than in 2016/17.
In a statement on their website they highlight the disproportionate impact of a decade of austerity and now the pandemic on women and children , saying 'even prior to the pandemic a decade of austerity, together with a rise in living costs led to an increase in people stealing to eat'.
They illustrate their point by citing the case of a 31-year-old mother in South Yorkshire who was arrested for stealing baby good and other items worth just £17.50.
On their website the Trussell Trust say the purpose of the report produced with Heriot Watt University is to call on the government to 'make changes now to create a system where no one is left behind this Winter'.
They are calling on the government to use the Comprehensive Spending Review and Budget scheduled for this Autumn to take specific actions. These include protecting incomes locking in the £20 uplift to Universal Credit brought in at the start of the pandemic, suspending deductions used to claw back advance payment of benefits and investing significantly in local welfare assistance schemes.
At the start of the pandemic chancellor Rishi Sunak promised that the government would 'out its arm around' the British public as we faced an unprecedented situation. That must include those individuals and households who were struggling to get by before the crisis began.
As the Trussell Trust conclude in their statement 'we know what needs to happen to make sure people have enough money for essentials and with unemployment expected to rise as the furlough scheme winds down, it is vital that we act now'.
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