North Cotswold Foodbank provided 1,670 three-day emergency food parcels to local people between April 2018 and March 2019. Of this number, 798 went to children.
The local food bank’s figures feed into a larger national picture with a record increase in foodbank use across the UK reported recently by the Trussell Trust.
North Cotswold Foodbank is backing calls from the Trussell Trust to ensure the benefits system is able to protect people from poverty.
The figures represent an increase of 26% over the same period last year. North Cotswold Foodbank believes the increase, particularly of families using the Foodbank, is due to people continuing to struggle with issues with benefit payments and Universal Credit (such as the five-week wait) and insecure work.
Rhian Morgan, project manager of North Cotswold Foodbank, said:
“What we are seeing is more and more people struggling to eat because they simply cannot afford food. This is not right – no one in the north Cotswolds should need a foodbank’s help and we want to see an end to local people needing emergency food at all. It doesn’t have to be this way – our benefits system is supposed to protect us all from being swept into poverty. Universal Credit should be part of the solution but currently the five-week wait is leaving many without enough money to cover the basics.
“Until we reach a future where foodbanks are no longer needed, we’ll continue to provide vital support when it matters most. We’re dedicated to ensuring that people in our community without enough money for food are able to access emergency support. Our vital work in the community has only been possible in the last year because of the incredible generosity shown by local people in donating food, time and funds. Thank you.”