Emergency food parcels distributed in past six months increase by more than 8%

North Cotswold Foodbank provided 823 emergency food parcels between April and September this year, an increase of 8.6% compared with last year. These parcels provided food for 2,052 people which is a 1.8% increase on last year.

Foodbanks across the UK gave out just over 1.4 million emergency food parcels over the same six-month period, according to Trussell. This includes 508,000 parcels provided for children facing hunger. This represents a 69% increase on five years ago, but was 4% lower than last year. The majority of food parcels were distributed to families with children, with 63% of the total number of parcels going to households with children aged 0–16, the charity reports.

Kevin Carden, Project Manager for North Cotswold Foodbank, said:

“The increasing numbers of people still facing hunger and hardship across the UK is heartbreaking. People are being forced to turn to foodbanks because incomes from work, and social security payments, do not cover the cost of essentials, such as food, bills, and toiletries. We need everyone to play their part to help us move towards ending the need for emergency food in the UK.”

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