Record numbers using food banks

A recent report from the Trussell Trust on food bank usage has revealed that over 1.1 million three-day emergency food parcels were provided to people in crisis in 2015-16.

This is a stark contrast when compared to 41,000 parcels in 2009-10 – a shocking 2,612% rise in the number of people who needed help from a food bank to feed their families since David Cameron came to power.

Delays at the Work and Pensions department along with rising bills and the bedroom tax has led to the increase in people using food banks in the UK. At a time when homelessness is also high, especially homelessness in the north east, it is no surprise that food banks are becoming a part of many lives today.

In the Trussell Trust’s report, three quarters the organisation’s food banks said that low wages were a significant factor in their referral to a food bank. Other factors for working people using food banks include 56% reporting insecure work contracts like zero-hours contracts that do not give people secure working hours as well as 47% of people reporting high living costs and a further 44% reporting problems accessing working benefits.

Food banks are clearly becoming more popular in our society – and an increase, since David Cameron became Prime Minister, is no coincidence.