Between April 2020 and March this year, North Cotswold Foodbank saw unprecedented numbers of people in need of support as the pandemic hit incomes and livelihoods. April 2020 was the busiest month ever for our Foodbank, with the number of 3-day emergency food parcels handed out during the month a massive 145% higher than in April 2019. By the end of September 2020, we had handed out more than 40% more food parcels compared with the previous year.
Demand for our support reduced in the second half of the year and overall in the 12 months to 1 April 2021 we handed out 711 food parcels, providing food to 2497 people, a 13% increase. Of these, 1259 were children, a 17% increase.
In the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks as a whole, a record 2.5 million emergency food parcels were given to people across UK between April 2020 and March 2021, with just under 1 million going to children – that’s two parcels every minute.
The Trussell Trust warns that with need for emergency food increasing year-on-year, these figures highlight an alarming 128% rise compared to this time five years ago. It is also the first time the number of food parcels distributed has topped two million.
Hunger in the UK isn’t about food, the Trussell Trust says, it’s about people not having enough money for the basics and with high rates of unemployment and record redundancies, more people than ever need the social security system to provide a strong enough lifeline to stay afloat.
Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said:
“No one should face the indignity of needing emergency food. Yet our network of food banks has given out record numbers of food parcels as more and more people struggle without enough money for the essentials. This is not right but we know we can build a better future. This pandemic has shown the unexpected can hit suddenly, but we know when we push for change, united by our desire for justice and compassion, the government has to listen and act.”