67,506 three day emergency food supplies were provided for children by The Trussell Trust’s foodbank network in July and August 2016 compared to 63,094 in May and June 2016. Between July and August 2016, of all 67, 506 three day emergency food supplies from The Trussell Trust foodbank network that went to children:
- 27% went to 0-4 year olds
- 47% went to 5-11 year olds
- 21% went to 12-16 year olds
- 5% went to children for whom their age was not known
This summer Trussell Trust foodbanks across the UK will be working to offer extra help to families struggling this summer. At least 60 foodbanks in The Trussell Trust’s network will be providing additional services to families struggling during the holiday, and 24 of these will run a Trussell Trust Holiday Club. The Holiday Clubs project, supported by the Innocent Foundation, has been designed for both children and parents to provide families with fun learning activities and a hot nutritious meal. Trained volunteers talk with parents to understand why they are struggling this summer and signpost families onto relevant local services or organisations to provide further support. Each club with capacity to do so will offer parents a ‘benefits health check’ using the Turn2us Benefits Calculator.**
The new age insights from The Trussell Trust’s data collection system also reveal the percentage of primary school children helped by foodbanks is consistently high all-year round (46% of all children referred between April 2016 and March 2017 were between 5-11), highlighting the need for support throughout the year, not only in the holidays. Foodbanks will continue to work all-year round to establish strong working relationships with local agencies to ensure families in need can be referred to the foodbank for emergency food and support.
Samantha Stapley, Operations Manager for England at The Trussell Trust, said:
“Over a third of all the food distributed by foodbanks in our network consistently goes to children, but these new figures show 5 to 11 year-olds are more likely than other children to receive a foodbank’s help. This highlights just how close to crisis many families are living. We can all make a difference – checking which food your local foodbank is running low on and donating to make sure emergency food is available when people are referred to help is a simple and effective way to get involved. You could be helping a family that lives on your street.
“As a nation we also must address the reasons why families with children are referred to foodbanks in the first place. We welcome the Government’s decision to maintain free school lunches for children during term time – the next step must be to help families during the holidays. Foodbanks are doing more than ever before but voluntary organisations alone cannot stop primary school children facing hunger. We are keen to share our insights with the new Government alongside other charities to inform a long-term coordinated solution to stop families falling into crisis.”
The Rt. Rev the Lord Bishop of Truro Tim Thornton, said:
“It is shocking to read the statistics and the breakdown provided by The Trussell Trust. That so many primary age children are going without food in our country is of great concern. It is good that so many voluntary organisations, the vast majority of which are based on churches are working to provide help for families during the summer holidays. It is very good that the community wants to help and work with those less fortunate and that is a key part of the gospel values. It is however also important that we keep trying to understand the deeper reasons why this situation is as it is.”
The new figures come as The Trussell Trust launches its national Summer Appeal and encourages people to donate to their local foodbank as the school holidays start. Everyone can help make a difference – a donation to The Trussell Trust’s Summer Appeal will help develop projects like Holiday Clubs, which help foodbanks provide additional support to people and prevent them needing a foodbank in the future, and a food donation to a local foodbank will go to someone referred for emergency help. For more information, please visit www.trusselltrust.org/summer-appeal.
Ends
Notes to Editor
Age data breakdown:
67,506 three day emergency food supplies were provided for children by The Trussell Trust’s foodbank network in July and August 2016 compared to 63,094 in May and June 2016.
Between July and August 2016, of all 67, 506 three day emergency food supplies from The Trussell Trust foodbank network that went to children,
- 27% went to 0-4 year olds
- 47% went to 5-11 year olds
- 21% went to 12-16 year olds
- 5% went to children for whom their age was not know
Between April 2016 and March 2017, of all 436,938 three day emergency food supplies from The Trussell Trust foodbank network that went to children,
- 27% went to 0-4 year olds
- 46% went to 5-11 year olds
- 21% went to 12-16 year olds
- 6% went to children for whom their age was not known
The Trussell Trust:
- The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that runs a network of over 420 foodbanks across the UK.
- Trussell Trust foodbanks provide three days’ nutritionally balanced food and support to people in crisis in the UK, and many foodbanks offer free additional services, like money advice and budget cookery courses as part of the charity’s ‘More Than Food’ approach, to build resilience and help prevent people needing referral to a foodbank again. Foodbank volunteers are also trained to signpost people to other agencies and services able to help resolve the underlying cause of the crisis.
- Everyone who comes to a Trussell Trust foodbank is referred by a professional such as a social worker, health visitor or schools liaison officer. Over 30,000 frontline professionals refer people to Trussell Trust foodbanks, and 50 percent are statutory agencies.
- Over 90 percent of food given out by Trussell Trust foodbanks is donated by the public. In 2016-17, 11,175 tonnes of food were given to people in crisis.
- The Trussell Trust is a charity motivated by Christian principles. For more about The Trussell Trust visit trusselltrust.org
*Trussell Trust statistics:
- The Trussell Trust statistics are a measure of volume – they show the number of people to whom The Trussell Trust foodbanks have given three days’ emergency food. These are not necessarily unique users. For example, if a family of three was referred to a foodbank twice in one year, this would count as six people on the system, because someone received three days’ emergency food six times. However, if a family of three were only referred to a foodbank once, this would count as three.
- On average, people need two foodbank vouchers in a year. Our figures have always been reported in this way. You can read more on our figures here: https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/end-year-stats/
**Turn2us: Turn2us is a national charity that helps people in financial hardship to gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services. The Turn2us benefit calculator works out whether someone is entitled to any means tested benefits, and if so which ones. For more about Turn2us visit https://www.turn2us.org.uk
