This is the first time food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network have provided more than two million parcels, outside of 2020/21, at the height of the pandemic.
Alarmingly, more than 830,000 parcels were provided for children, representing a 15% increase from 2019/20 when 720,000 were provided.
This represents a 14% increase compared to the same period in 2019/20 – before the pandemic – as more and more people are unable to afford the absolute essentials that we all need to eat, stay warm, dry and clean.
In the East Riding, a total of 10,034 food parcels were provided to people in need, up from 9,175 early on in the pandemic in 2020/2021 and a massive 181% up from 2019/2020 when the figures was at 3,567.
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The Trussell Trust says food banks in its network experienced their busiest winter outside of 2020 at the height of the pandemic, providing 1.2 million parcels in the second half of the year alone (from October to the end of March).
That is more parcels than were provided for the whole year of 2016/17, just five years ago.
Food bank managers are also now warning of an accelerating crisis across the UK following the cut to Universal Credit, as the cost of living continues to soar.
Need for food banks in the Trussell Trust network has accelerated throughout the past six months:
○ July – September 2021 saw a 10% increase in comparison to the same period in 2019
○ October – December 2021 saw a 17% increase in comparison to the same period in 2019
○ January – February 2022 saw a 22% increase in comparison to the same period in 2020
As inflation continues to increase and rising bills are putting pressure on families across the country, the Trussell Trust says its network expects need for emergency food to rise further still, over the coming months and beyond.
A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the pressures on the cost of living and we are doing what we can to help, including spending £22 billion across the next financial year to support people with energy bills and cut fuel duty.
“For the hardest hit, we’re putting an average of £1,000 more per year into the pockets of working families on Universal Credit, have also boosted the minimum wage by more than £1,000 a year for full-time workers and our Household Support Fund is there to help with the cost of everyday essentials.”