Church-run food bank network hands out ‘record number’ of emergency parcels

The Trussell Trust said the number of three-day supplies given out across the UK had “soared” by 73 per cent in the past five years.

The main reasons for people turning to a food bank were benefits not covering the cost of living, or delays in payment of benefits, said the Christian trust.

Almost half (49 per cent) of food bank referrals made due to a delay in benefits being paid in UK were linked to Universal Credit, according to the charity.

It said the Government should end the five-week wait for a first UC payment to help reduce reliance on food banks.

The number of food parcels handed out at the trust’s 1,200 sites totalled 1,583,668 in the year to March, a near-20 per cent increase on the previous twelve months, and the most since the charity opened 20 years ago.

“More & more people are struggling to eat because they cannot afford food. This isn’t right.” Today, our network’s latest #foodbank figures show a record 1.6m emergency food parcels were handed out last year. Enough is enough – #ThisCanChange. More here > https://t.co/QOnqiMlKZn pic.twitter.com/ZwWYWLjjqE

— The Trussell Trust (@TrussellTrust) April 25, 2019

The trust’s chief executive, Emma Revie, said: “What we are seeing year upon year is more and more people struggling to eat because they simply cannot afford food. This is not right.

“We know this situation can be fixed – that’s why…