Posts in 'Press Releases'

The charity says families with children have been hit hardest with almost 2,000 parcels provided for children every day by food banks in its network 

New figures released today reveal more than 5,100 emergency food parcels were provided for people every day from April until September this year on average, by food banks in the Trussell Trust network. That’s at least three parcels given every minute and is an 11% increase compared to the same period in 2019, as need for emergency food remains well above pre-pandemic levels. 

Alarmingly, families with children have been hit the hardest, with food parcels for children increasing at double the rate for adults, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Between April and September 2021, almost 2,000 parcels were provided for children every day on average, compared to almost 1,700 in 2019.    

As more and more people across the country face destitution – meaning they are unable to afford the absolute essentials to eat, stay warm, dry and clean – the Trussell Trust warns need for emergency food is expected to rise further still, this winter and beyond. Food banks in the Trussell Trust network face giving out more than 7,000 food parcels every day in December. 

The charity says many families already at breaking point face the fallout of the £20 per week cut from Universal Credit payments that hit this autumn. This is on top of rising fuel costs during the coldest season, as well as soaring inflation.  

This is forcing many families deeper into poverty, the charity says, and is leaving people facing impossible decisions where their only option is to either skip meals to provide food for their children or heat their home. 

The Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie says we all need the security and stability of a lifeline to support us whenever we need it and is calling on the UK government to urgently strengthen the social security system. She is also urging the public to donate vital funds to help fight hunger this winter and support the Trussell Trust’s campaign for change to help end the need for food banks. 

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

“Everyone in the UK should be able to afford the essentials – to buy their own food and heat their homes. Yet food banks in our network continue to see more and more people facing destitution with an increase in food parcels going to children. This is not right.  

“Our food bank managers expect need to grow further still, saying they will need to provide more than 7,000 food parcels a day during December, as many families are faced with an even tougher winter ahead. This must stop.  

“The answer must be for us to have the stability of a strong enough social security system to protect any one of us when we need it. We need government at all levels to take action and are asking the public to help fight hunger this winter and join the campaign to fight for a future without the need for food banks.” 

Join the Trussell Trust’s Winter Appeal now by donating vital funds to help us campaign for change so that no one needs a food bank in the future.: trusselltrust.org/impossible-decisions 

ENDS     

Notes to editors: 

Number of emergency food parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in the mid-year period of 2019 and 2021.   

1. In the mid-year period of 2021 (1st April – 30th September inclusive) these parcels were distributed by 1,468 distribution centres operating in 292 local authorities across the UK. 

1. Across this period in 2021 food banks in the Trussell Trust network distributed, on average, over three (3.55) parcels to people in crisis every minute. 

1. Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network experienced unprecedented increases during 2020 as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic drove people to food banks. This years figures are lower than those seen in the equivalent period in 2020 but remain higher than 2019 and 74% up on the same period in 2016.  

1. ‘Emergency food parcel’: this typically is a three-day parcel containing emergency food for one person. During the crisis food banks have also been distributing seven-day parcels. For this release the Trussell Trust have simply combined both three-day and seven-day parcels together to report the total number of emergency food parcels that were distributed.  

1. Need for emergency food is driven by a lack of income. The Trussell Trust’s State of Hunger research shows that 95% of people referred to food banks are destitute, meaning they don’t have enough income to buy the essentials that we all need. State of Hunger  

1. Figures from the Trussell Trust network cannot be used to fully explain the scale of food bank use across the UK. The Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) has identified at least 1,124 independent food banks while there are also Salvation Army food banks as well as food banks run from schools and hospitals. There are also thousands of other food aid providers including soup kitchens and social supermarkets.  

Contact       

Contact the Trussell Trust for more information on 020 3137 3699 or [email protected]  

About the Trussell Trust:    

• We’re here to end the need for food banks in UK.     
• We support a UK-wide network of more than 1,300 food bank centres and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.     
• Our most recent figures for the number of emergency food supplies provided by our network: https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/     

People forced to food banks at the start of the pandemic faced extreme poverty, with just £248 a month to survive on after housing costs, according to new research.

The Trussell Trust calls for government at all levels to commit to working to end the need for food banks for good as it launches study at cross-party political event.

Today, the Trussell Trust reveals State of Hunger 2021, a follow-up to the most authoritative piece of independent research into hunger in the UK to date. Commissioned by the charity and conducted by Heriot-Watt University, the study sheds light on the groups of people across the UK disproportionately affected by hunger and the drivers behind food bank use. (more…)

Record 2.5 million emergency food parcels given to people across UK with just under 1m going to children – that’s two parcels every minute.

The Trussell Trust is urgently calling on all levels of government across the UK to commit to developing a plan to end the need for food banks once and for all.

Today, the Trussell Trust reports that food banks in its UK network gave more than 2.5 million emergency food parcels to people facing crisis between April 2020 and March 2021. More than 980,000 of these went to children– that’s almost two parcels on average every minute. Food banks in its network experienced a 33% increase in need during the past extraordinarily difficult year – with a 36% rise in parcels given for children compared with 2019/20.  (more…)

The Trussell Trust and Bank of America form partnership to support people in crisis. Working to create a hunger free future for all.

Today, the Trussell Trust and Bank of America have entered a partnership as food banks in the charity’s network experience a huge rise in need through the pandemic.

Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network saw a 47% increase in need during the first six months of the pandemic, with 1.2m emergency food parcels provided to people in crisis between April and September 2020 alone. There has been a huge increase in emergency food going to children, with 2,600 food parcels going to children across the UK every day. (more…)

Nearly a quarter of a million parents on Universal Credit fear not being able to properly feed their children if cut to benefit goes ahead, according to new report.

The report from the Trussell Trust warns of growing need for food banks from people claiming Universal Credit as one in five people on the benefit say that they are ‘very likely’ to turn to one, if the £20 rise is removed.

The Trussell Trust is urgently calling on the government to keep the £20 weekly uplift to Universal Credit due to end in April, as a survey reveals the alarming consequences of cutting it. (more…)

• The Trussell Trust says 47% of households surveyed at food banks during the summer owed money to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) due to loans and overpayments of benefits – this is compared to 37% at the start of the year before the pandemic hit
• Almost three out of four households on Universal Credit at food banks over the summer were repaying an advance payment to the government, a loan primarily taken out to cover the five-week wait for a first payment
• The charity is urging the government to stop taking money from people’s pockets through the winter months until a more just system is put in place
• You can help by joining the fight for a Hunger Free Future and by tweeting the DWP Minister to ask for these deductions to be paused this winter.

(more…)

 2,600 food parcels provided for children every day in first six months of the pandemic  

• Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK network saw a shocking 47% increase in need during the crisis, building on record need experienced during the same period last year
• The charity warns these figures are the tip of the iceberg, as many people will have been helped by other community groups
• Welcome steps have been taken by the UK government but longer-term action is needed, and the Trussell Trust is calling for people to join the campaign to build a Hunger Free Future

(more…)

As part of their ongoing partnership with the Trussell Trust, Pears Foundation has announced a £1 million grant to the charity which supports a network of food banks across the UK. The funds, to be provided over the next five years, will focus on tackling destitution by raising people’s incomes. This will include the provision of high-quality benefits advice made freely available for people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network.  

As the full impact of Covid-19 continues to unfold, latest research by the Trussell Trust forecasts a 61% increase in food parcels needed across its UK network in October to December – this equates to six emergency food parcels given out every minute. (more…)

New research shows food banks are forecast to give out six emergency food parcels a minute this winter.

• The Trussell Trust’s new analysis forecasts a 61% increase in food parcels needed across its UK network in October to December – six parcels given out every minute
• During the start of the pandemic around half of people who used a food bank had never needed one before
• Families with children have been hardest hit
• The charity is clear the situation can be turned around if this evidence is prioritised and acted upon by government during the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review and budget

(more…)

• The Trussell Trust reports a soaring  89% increase in need for emergency food parcels during April 2020 compared to the same month last year, including a 107% rise in parcels given to children
• The number of families with children receiving parcels has almost doubled compared to the same period last year
• Food banks in the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) report a 175% increase in need for the same period
• A coalition of charities, including Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), The Children’s Society, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), StepChange and Turn2us, is calling for funding for local authorities in England to ensure grants are quickly distributed to help people stay afloat as part of a temporary Coronavirus Emergency Income Support Scheme

(more…)