NEW figures released by West Cheshire Foodbank (WCFB) have revealed an alarming number of emergency food parcels were provided by the charity in the last year.

Annual figures from the Trussell Trust state that 16,408 emergency food parcels were required by people facing hardship in the borough - a staggering 5,973 of these going to children. The Trussell Trust has given out almost 3 million (2,986,203) food parcels across the UK - more than ever before.

West Cheshire Foodbank has seen a 25 percent increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed compared to last year. This is the most parcels the Foodbank has ever provided – over double the number provided five years ago.

The organisation has around 19 venues covering an area from Neston to Malpas and as far east as Helsby. Many of these host between one and five sessions per week in which they provide some of the boroughs most deprived residents with access to vital food donations.

The demand is such that the charity is now having to supplement its supply by purchasing food, rather than relying on methods of collection from local supermarkets, churchs or schools.

The levels of need were particularly acute in winter - December was the busiest month but this trend has continued - with 1600 emergency food parcels provided by staff and volunteers in March 2023 alone.

Ian Oulton, Trustee at West Cheshire Foodbank said: "We have just witnessed the busiest 12 months on record and are having to resort to purchasing food on a weekly basis to keep pace with current demand, as more and more local people must resort to foodbanks as a last resort. We fully support the Trussell Trust campaign (the Essentials Guarantee) for a fairer benefit system, so that we can work towards an end to the need for foodbanks."

WCFB is part of the Trussell Trust’s network (but a local charity in its own right), which reports record levels of need in the last 12 months with almost 3 million (2,986,203) emergency food parcels provided to people facing hardship between April 2022 and March 2023. More than a million of these parcels were provided for children.

Speaking about the rising need for emergency food, Emma Revie, Chief Executive at the Trussell Trust, said: "These new statistics are extremely concerning and show that an increasing number of people are being left with no option but to turn to charitable, volunteer-run organisations to get by and this is not right. The continued increase in parcel numbers over the last five years indicates that it is ongoing low levels of income and a social security system that isn’t fit for purpose that are forcing more people to need food banks, rather than just the recent cost of living crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic.

"West Cheshire Foodbank was set up to provide short-term support to people in an emergency, they are not a lasting solution to hunger and poverty, and more than three quarters of the UK population agree with us that they should not need to exist.

"The staff and volunteers at West Cheshire Foodbank are working tirelessly to ensure help continues to be available, but the current situation is not one they can solve alone.

"For too long, the people of West Cheshire have been going without because social security payments do not reflect life’s essential costs and people are being pushed deeper into hardship as a result. If we are to stop this continued growth and end the need for food banks then the UK government must ensure that the standard allowance of Universal Credit is always enough to cover essential costs."

The Trussell Trust has recently joined with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to urge the government to embed in law an 'Essentials Guarantee' that would make sure Universal Credit payment always, at a minimum, provide enough to cover the cost of food, utilities and other vital household goods.

More information on the 'Essentials Guarantee' can be found on the Trussell Trust website.