Source : unsplash/@Joel Muniz
As the cost of living rises , more people are turning to food banks despite donations dropping .
A recent press release by the Trussell Trust, who own major food banks in the UK, revealed that the charity received more emergency food parcels in the months of August and September than in the whole of 2021.
In the next 6 months , the Trussell Trust will spend £1.3 million on emergency food parcels, including to the Birmingham Central Foodbank.
Statistics by the Trussel Trust between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022, show that people are skipping meals to feed their children. What is most alarming is that these statistics convey that the demand does not match the quantity of donations .
Yet, Birmingham City Council made a statement over a week ago that they would provide £5 million to tackle the cost of living crisis .
Some of the money will be used to buy provisions for food banks such as those belonging to the Trussel Trust .
The leader of Birmingham City Council, Ian Ward,declared a cost of living emergency for the city, early in September .
With bills and inflation rising, more and more people are turning to food banks.
Figures from Statistica show that the food inflation rate is 14.5 %.
Therefore, people are struggling to put food on the table and are calling for government help and using charitable organisations.
The Independent Food Aid Network found between April and August that 25% of people using food banks (surveyed by IFAN) had never used them before.
They also found that the wider population is using food banks such as those that work in the public sector (teachers and social workers ).
For more info on tackling the cost of living crisis click here .