End of Year Stats
Record 1.9m food bank parcels given to people in the past year as the Trussell Trust calls for governments at all levels to use their powers to make sure everyone can afford the essentials.
1.9 million
The number of three-day emergency food supplies given to people in crisis by Trussell Trust food banks in the financial year 2019-2020.

Between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, the Trussell Trust’s food bank network distributed 1.9 million three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis, a 18% increase on the previous year. More than seven hundred thousand of these went to children.
In the last five years, food bank use in our network has increased by 74%

“This year has been an extraordinarily difficult one, with many more people across the country facing destitution as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Food banks carry on, working as tirelessly as ever, to support people in crisis through the unprecedented challenge the pandemic continues to pose. The statistics in our 2019/2020 report show the situation in food banks up until the end of March, before the true economic impact of the pandemic had hit. Despite this, we see a rise in the number of people being forced to use a food bank yet again. This constant rise in food bank use, year after year, cannot continue. More and more people are struggling to eat because they simply cannot afford food – and when we look to the year ahead, it’s likely even more people will be forced into destitution. This is not right.”
“We know this situation can be turned around – that’s why we’re campaigning to create a future where no one needs a food bank. Our benefits system is supposed to protect us all from being swept into poverty and while additional government measures have helped some people stay afloat this year, clearly more needs to be done. That’s why we united with partners from across the charity sector in urging the UK government to make sure everyone can afford the essentials through the economic downturn. And we want to see governments at all levels doing everything in their power to protect people from financial hardship.”
“We have outlined what needs to be done – it’s in our power to protect one another, we’ve seen it during this health crisis, and we need it to continue during this economic one.”

Emma Revie
Chief Executive
Primary Reasons for Referral to Trussell Trust food banks in 2019-20
The top three reasons for referral to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network in 2019-20 were low income’, benefit delays’ and benefit changes’.

Governments at all levels need to use their powers to support people
Our statistics for 2019/20 show that food banks were already experiencing record levels of need before the coronavirus pandemic struck. We have seen significant increases since the economic fallout of the crisis. This continued increase in food bank use cannot continue.
That’s why we are coming together with partners from across the charity sector to urge governments at all levels to use their powers to make sure that everyone can afford the essentials through the economic downturn and beyond.
We have previously outlined what governments need to do – it is within our power to make sure we protect one another during this crisis.
Food bank Statistics for previous Financial Years with Regional Breakdown
2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | |
UK | 913,982 | 1,091,282 | 1,112,395 | 1,201,302 | 1,354,388 | 1,606,244 | 1,900,122 |
England | 749,667 | 866,481 | 863,870 | 920,170 | 1,046,807 | 1,235,892 | 1,483,243 |
Scotland | 72,487 | 119,212 | 135,943 | 150,095 | 173,526 | 217,006 | 237,225 |
Wales | 79,996 | 87,935 | 86,314 | 97,144 | 100,362 | 116,087 | 134,646 |
Northern Ireland | 11,832 | 17,654 | 26,268 | 33,893 | 33,693 | 37,259 | 45,008 |
North East | 59,634 | 88,248 | 76,523 | 62,280 | 65,218 | 89,479 | 98,461 |
North West | 138,005 | 158,079 | 160,803 | 175,645 | 198,830 | 225,188 | 252,165 |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 36,867 | 58,939 | 66,303 | 70,307 | 79,502 | 90,245 | 108,102 |
West Midlands | 94,024 | 104,374 | 103,702 | 111,760 | 121,039 | 142,900 | 168,886 |
East Midlands | 40,380 | 45,484 | 49,366 | 56,791 | 67,078 | 78,229 | 101,534 |
East | 88,703 | 102,319 | 103,668 | 116,356 | 130,493 | 157,243 | 196,511 |
London | 99,925 | 108,373 | 112,124 | 113,701 | 137,923 | 169,734 | 204,299 |
South West | 99,536 | 100,188 | 93,701 | 104,095 | 121,826 | 133,287 | 162,045 |
South East | 92,593 | 100,477 | 97,680 | 109,235 | 124,898 | 149,587 | 191,240 |
2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | |
UK | 583,387 | 691,638 | 695,580 | 757,881 | 862,583 | 1,020,733 | 1,179,618 |
England | 475,263 | 541,806 | 534,574 | 575,703 | 660,833 | 778,924 | 913,433 |
Scotland | 49,820 | 82,686 | 91,255 | 100,781 | 117,540 | 145,576 | 156,602 |
Wales | 51,758 | 57,154 | 54,850 | 61,687 | 64,341 | 74,331 | 83,509 |
Northern Ireland | 6,546 | 9,992 | 14,901 | 19,710 | 19,869 | 21,902 | 26,074 |
North East | 36,622 | 52,815 | 46,537 | 39,364 | 41,400 | 56,202 | 61,999 |
North West | 87,166 | 98,314 | 98,807 | 108,540 | 123,578 | 141,205 | 152,617 |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 24,919 | 38,207 | 41,918 | 45,340 | 51,206 | 57,510 | 67,219 |
West Midlands | 58,389 | 64,526 | 64,186 | 70,351 | 77,408 | 91,669 | 106,695 |
East Midlands | 25,711 | 28,614 | 30,672 | 35,568 | 42,436 | 48,956 | 62,363 |
East | 57,743 | 65,613 | 64,204 | 71,902 | 80,999 | 96,754 | 117,968 |
London | 61,021 | 67,010 | 69,044 | 72,170 | 88,998 | 108,816 | 129,424 |
South West | 65,252 | 63,863 | 59,343 | 65,586 | 76,831 | 83,782 | 99,712 |
South East | 58,440 | 62,844 | 59,863 | 66,882 | 77,977 | 94,030 | 115,436 |
2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | |
UK | 330,595 | 399,644 | 416,815 | 443,421 | 491,805 | 585,511 | 720,504 |
England | 274,404 | 324,675 | 329,296 | 344,467 | 385,974 | 456,968 | 569,810 |
Scotland | 22,667 | 36,526 | 44,688 | 49,314 | 55,986 | 71,430 | 80,623 |
Wales | 28,238 | 30,781 | 31,464 | 35,457 | 36,021 | 41,756 | 51,137 |
Northern Ireland | 5,286 | 7,662 | 11,367 | 14,183 | 13,824 | 15,357 | 18,934 |
North East | 23,012 | 35,433 | 29,986 | 22,916 | 23,818 | 33,277 | 36,462 |
North West | 50,839 | 59,765 | 61,996 | 67,105 | 75,252 | 83,983 | 99,548 |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 11,948 | 20,732 | 24,385 | 24,967 | 28,296 | 32,735 | 40,883 |
West Midlands | 35,635 | 39,848 | 39,516 | 41,409 | 43,631 | 51,231 | 62,191 |
East Midlands | 14,669 | 16,870 | 18,694 | 21,223 | 24,642 | 29,273 | 39,171 |
East | 30,960 | 36,706 | 39,464 | 44,454 | 49,494 | 60,489 | 78,543 |
London | 38,904 | 41,363 | 43,080 | 41,531 | 48,925 | 60,918 | 74,875 |
South West | 34,284 | 36,325 | 34,358 | 38,509 | 44,995 | 49,505 | 62,333 |
South East | 34,153 | 37,633 | 37,817 | 42,353 | 46,921 | 55,557 | 75,804 |
What do these stats show?
Our statistics are a measure of volume rather than unique users, and on average people needed around two food bank referrals in the last year. The data is collected using an online system into which food banks enter data from each food bank voucher, and the number of three-day emergency food supplies is recorded.
For example, if a family of three was referred to a food bank twice in one year, this would count as six supplies on the system because it would reflect six instances on which a supply went to someone in the household. However, if a family of three were only referred to a food bank once, this would count as three supplies.
Trussell Trust figures cannot be used to fully explain the scale of food bank use across the UK, because our figures relate to food banks in our network and not to the hundreds of independent food aid providers. There are more than 1,200 food bank centres in our network across the UK. Research from the Independent Food Aid Network suggests these centres account for roughly two-thirds of all emergency food bank provision in the UK – you can read more about this here.