Desperate parents are turning to foodbanks to feed their children as new figures reveal a record 1.6m emergency food packages have been handed out in the last year.
The number of food parcels handed out at the Trussell Trust’s 1,200 sites totalled 1,583,668 in the last 12 months to March – and a third of them went to children.
The latest food parcel figures show an increase of around 20% on the previous year and are the highest recorded since the charity was set up 20 years ago.
The number of three-day emergency food supplies given out by foodbanks across the UK has risen by 73% in the past five years.
“Often people tell us the reason they have bitten the bullet and got a referral to a foodbank was because of their children.”
Garry Lemon, director of policy and research at The Trussell Trust, told HuffPost UK that families are being hit particularly hard and many of them are turning to foodbanks for the sake of their children.
He said: “We speak to desperate parents who are having to make some very difficult choices.
“Often people tell us the reason they have bitten the bullet and got a referral to a foodbank was because of their children.
“Some tell us they can cope with going without themselves but cannot bear to see their children go hungry.”
The main reasons for people using a foodbank are benefits not covering the cost of living, or delays in the payment of benefits, according to The Trussell Trust.
And they say almost of foodbank referrals made due to a delay in benefits were linked to Universal Credit.
HuffPost UK spent time at the Salvation Army food bank in Preston last year and discovered a huge rise in demand for emergency food packages.
Major Alex Cadogan, who has spent seven years working at the centre, says the latest figures showing the large number of children needing food sadly come as no surprise.
He told HuffPost UK: “It certainly resonates with us as we noticed a significant increase in the last year in the amount of families we have had to support through the foodbank.
“It is incredibly saddening that we are in a situation where so many families need to go to foodbanks so they can feed their children as the support structures have failed them in some way or another.”
The Trussell Trust is calling for the government to end the five-week wait for a first Universal Credit payment to help reduce reliance on foodbanks.
Emma Revie, the trust’s chief executive, 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.
“Our benefits system is supposed to protect us all from being swept into poverty.
“Universal Credit should be part of the solution but currently the five-week wait is leaving many without enough money to cover the basics.
“As a priority, we’re urging the government to end the wait for Universal Credit to ease the pressure on thousands of households.
“No charity can replace the dignity of having financial security. That’s why, in the long term, we’re urging the government to ensure benefit payments reflect the true cost of living and work is secure, paying the real living wage, to help ensure we are all anchored from poverty.”
Campbell Robb, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “It is just wrong that in our society, a growing number of people, including children, are going hungry because of our consistent failure to get to grips with poverty.
“When the use of food banks reaches a record high, we are beyond the language of warning signs and wake up calls.
“Unless we take bold action to solve poverty we risk undermining what we stand for as a country.”
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is calling for reforms to social security, housing and the jobs market to stem the rise in poverty.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “It is not true to say that people need to wait five weeks for their first payment. Universal Credit is available to claimants on day one.
“It also cannot be claimed that Universal Credit is driving the overall use of foodbanks or that benefit changes and delays are driving growth.
“The trust’s own analysis shows a substantial fall in the share of parcels being issued due to benefit payment delays.
“The best route out of poverty is to help people into sustainable employment which, with record employment, we are doing.
“For those who need a safety net, we have invested £10 billion into Universal Credit since 2016 alone, confirmed the benefits freeze will end next year and made changes to make Universal Credit fairer for women and families.”
Margaret Greenwood, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “The sharp rise in foodbank use over the last year is shocking and the need for emergency food parcels in one of the richest countries of the world is shameful.
“Nobody in our society should be forced to turn to foodbanks to survive.
“Despite ministers’ attempts to explain away foodbank use, the Trussell Trust is very clear that cuts to social security and the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments are key reasons for the rise.”