1,800 emergency food parcels provided by North Cotswold Foodbank last year

North Cotswold Foodbank provided 1,794 emergency food parcels to people facing hardship in the last year, according to new figures released last week. The parcels supported 480 local households, 44% of which were families with children.

The 2025 figures are broadly similar to 2024. However, the increase in food bank need in the Cotswolds since the pandemic has rocketed by 130% in the last six years. Peak demand was in November and December.

North Cotswold Foodbank Manager Kevin Carden said the reasons that people turn to the food bank vary. “The main factor is a rise in the cost of living, along with long-term illness and debt. Sometimes people have lost their job and just need us for a few weeks until they get back on their feet. Other times, a repair bill for the car or a washing machine throws the family finances out and there’s nothing left to pay the food bills,” he said. “We are enormously grateful to Co-op and Tesco shoppers in our area for putting food in our donation bins – every tin counts, whether it’s loo rolls or a tin of ham.”

“We’d also like to thank all those who have given us cash donations, as well as our local schools who do so much for us at Harvest Festival time. Your generosity makes a massive difference to local people in genuine need. Our aim is to end the need for food banks. At the moment, that goal is some way off.”

North Cotswold Foodbank is part of the Trussell community of food banks, which has highlighted the scars that the pandemic and cost of living crisis have left on living standards, with food bank use across the UK still 45% higher than in 2019. Nationally, families with children continue to be among the hardest hit, receiving 62% of parcels in 2025 despite these families making up just 42% of the UK population.

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