Rise in Food Parcels Provided During the First Six Months of the Pandemic is Only the Tip of the Iceberg Warns Charity.

 

The Trussell Trust, the charity running most of England’s food banks saw a 47% rise in need for its services during the first six months of the pandemic.

 

Figures published by the charity show that it provided 1.2million emergency food parcels between the start of April and the end of September, 470,000 of which were for children.

 

An emergency food parcel consists of enough food to last one person for three days, during the pandemic the Trussell Trust have also been providing seven-day parcels. The figures are based on the total number of both types provided.

 

The trust warn that the figures represent the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to food poverty and do not account for people helped by the many local groups that have sprung up since the start of the pandemic.

 

Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie said ‘throughout 2020 communities across the country have stepped in to provide vital support for people left without money’, she praise the work of food bank volunteers, but added that it is ‘not right that any of us are forced to turn to a charity for food’.

 

MS Revie also praised the ‘incredible compassion and concern for people facing hunger’ shown by the public ‘following Marcus Rashford’s brilliant campaigning’ on the issue.

 

She also welcomed steps taken by the government to prevent people from falling into destitution, but said such support must ‘work in coordination with a national welfare system that is strong enough to act as a lifeline to anyone struggling to afford the essentials’.

 

The Trussell Trust are calling on the government to do more to help struggling people by locking in the £20 rise to Universal Credit and to suspend benefit debt reductions until a fairer payment system can be developed.

 

The charity are also asking members of the public to support their Hunger Free Future campaign by signing up at  https://www.trusselltrust.org/hunger-free-future/.

 

The pandemic, Emma Revie said, had ‘shown how the unexpected can hit us suddenly’ and have a devastating impact on the lives of individuals and families.

 

It has also shown, she went on to say, how ‘we can make huge changes to how we live and look after each other’, adding that ‘when we come together to push for change, the government responds’.