Public generosity to food banks last Christmas must be matched by urgent policy changes

As new figures reveal the level of generosity from the public to food banks in the run up to last Christmas, the Trussell Trust is calling on the government to end the five week wait for Universal Credit.

New figures released today show 3,072 tonnes of food were donated to food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network in December 2019, as donations from the public kept pace with the increased need for emergency food seen last year.

The sheer amount of food donated comes against a backdrop of soaring need for food banks across the UK as more and more people are locked into poverty due to low benefit incomes, benefit delays and changes to benefits being paid.  Although Universal Credit is not the only benefit payment people at food banks experience problems with, one of the key issues forcing people to food banks is the five week wait for a first Universal Credit payment.

A recent YouGov survey found that half of the UK public has taken action to address hunger and its causes in the last 12 months, with more than a third donating food to a food bank. The Trussell Trust is asking the new government to match the public’s commitment to stopping people going hungry by playing its part and sticking to its manifesto pledge to ‘do more to make sure Universal Credit works for the most vulnerable’.

The charity is calling on the new Chancellor to use the forthcoming Budget on March 11th to ensure that the benefits system can support people who need it by:

1. Ending the five week wait for Universal Credit
2. Ensuring benefit payments cover the cost of living
3. Investing in local emergency support for people in crisis

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said:

“Food banks were truly overwhelmed by the level of generosity from the public in the run up to Christmas. These donations show communities and individuals, driven by compassion and justice, are doing what they can to help people facing hunger, but no charity can replace the dignity of having enough money to buy your own food.

“We know this can change. It’s now time for our new Chancellor to do his part in the forthcoming Budget and match these acts of compassion by doing the right thing and putting money back into the pockets of people who most need support. 

“It’s in our power as a country to end the need for food banks. To reach that future, we need to make sure everyone has enough money for the essentials. The government’s first priority must be ensuring our benefits system anchors us all from the rising tide of poverty by ending the five week wait for Universal Credit.”

While the amount of food donated allowed food banks to support increasing numbers of people, the Trussell Trust is also asking the public to check what items their local food bank is most in need of and to donate all year round to ensure vital support is available to local people in crisis, no matter the time of year.

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Contact

Contact the Trussell Trust Press Office at 020 3137 3699 or [email protected]

Notes to Editor:

The Trussell Trust’s statistics:

• Between December 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network received 3072.50 tonnes of food
• Figures from the Trussell Trust cannot be used to fully explain the scale of food bank use across the UK, because figures relate to food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network and not to the hundreds of independent food banks. There are more than 1,200 food bank centres in the Trussell Trust’s network across the UK – research from the Independent Food Aid Network shows there are at least 817 independent food banks, so the Trussell Trust network accounts for roughly two-thirds of all food banks.
• The Independent Food Aid Network and A Menu for Change recently published data on the number of emergency food parcels distributed by independent food banks in Scotland which almost doubles the scale shown by figures from the Trussell Trust network – more detail here.

About the Trussell Trust:

• The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that supports a network of more than 1,200 food bank centres across the UK.
• It takes more than food to end hunger. The Trussell Trust therefore does three things: supports its network to provide emergency food to people referred; helps food banks to provide on-site additional help or signpost people to relevant local charities to resolve the cause of referral; and brings together the experiences of hundreds of communities on the front line to challenge the structural issues that lock people in poverty, and campaign for long-term change so we can see a future without the need for food banks.
• Read more at trusselltrust.org