3 June, 2020 Open access
3 June, 2020 Open access
Increase in need during coronavirus outbreak is 'completely unprecedented and not right', says Chief Executive
The Trussell Trust has reported an 89 per cent increase in the need for emergency food parcels in April 2020 as compared to April 2019.
In figures published today, the Trust says that, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, April 2020 was its 'busiest month ever'. The Trust also highlights that the 89 per cent increase included a 107 per cent increase in the number of parcels given to children, and a 95 per cent increase in the number of parcels going to families with children.
Responding to this evidence of unmet need, the Trust has joined with a coalition of anti-poverty charities - including the Child Poverty Action Group, the Children’s Society, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, StepChange and Turn2us - in calling for funding for local authorities in England to provide emergency cash grants to struggling families as part of a temporary Coronavirus Emergency Income Support Scheme which would also include -
Commenting on the April 2020 figures, Trussell Trust Chief Executive Emma Revie said -
'We have been seeing rises in food bank need for the past five years but this 89 per cent increase - with the number of families coming to food banks doubling - is completely unprecedented and not right. People need to be able to put food on their table. The government must put urgent support in place to ensure people already struggling to keep their heads above water can stay afloat. We have outlined what we need our government to do - it’s in our power to protect one another, we’ve seen it during this health crisis, and we need it to continue during this economic one.'
For more information, see UK food banks report busiest month ever, as coalition urgently calls for funding to get money into people’s pockets quickly during pandemic from trusselltrust.org
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