Food bank demand dips but numbers still needing help branded ‘heartbreaking’

A gradual slowdown in price hikes and better housing benefit support might have contributed to a slight fall in the number of parcels being given out at food banks in recent months, a charity said.

There were just over 1.4 million parcels provided across the UK between April and September, around a 4% drop on the same period last year.

But food bank network Trussell said the number of people still facing hunger and hardship across the UK remains “heartbreaking”.

In the six months since April, there were 1,428,681 emergency food parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell community across the UK, down from 1,495,309 in the same period a year earlier.

Of those, the number of parcels for children fell from 542,915 to 507,721 in the same time.

In this period 277,000 people – including adults and children – were referred to food banks in the Trussell network for the first time.

Trussell said possible reasons for the overall dip in demand could include a “gradual slowdown in the extortionate price hikes we experienced on food and bills in recent years” as well as the Local Housing Allowance being unfrozen in April, “bringing support for private renters back in line with local rents”.

The number of parcels delivered in the April-September period this year remains much higher than in the same period in 2019 and Trussell said it is “difficult to say if there has been an actual drop in hunger and hardship”.

The sheer numbers of people still facing hunger and hardship across the UK is heartbreaking. This cannot go on and we refuse to stand by while so many of us are pushed to the brink, left without enough money to live on

While all four nations saw demand fall, regional breakdowns showed areas such as the east of England and London experienced slight increases of almost 1% and 4% respectively.

Trussell chief executive, Emma Revie, said: “The sheer numbers of people still facing hunger and hardship across the UK is heartbreaking. This cannot go on and we refuse to stand by while so many of us are pushed to the brink, left without enough money to live on.”

She added that the charity will “continue to call for change” as she urged the Government to have a “clearer plan” to end hunger.

She said: “The UK Government was elected with a manifesto pledge to end the need for emergency food and the time to act is now.

“There have been promising steps, but we need a clearer plan with more decisive action to invest in our social security system, if we are to end hunger once and for all.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The mass dependence on food banks is unacceptable – that’s why we’ve extended the Household Support Fund again to help struggling families with the cost of essentials.

“Alongside this, we are increasing the National Living Wage, uprating benefits and helping over one million households by introducing a fair repayment rate on Universal Credit deductions, while our Child Poverty Taskforce develops an ambitious strategy to give all children the best start in life.”