Foodbanks would be redundant by the end of the decade under plans due to be outlined in Parliament tomorrow.
Scottish National Party MP Chris Stephens will formally present his Food Poverty Strategy Bill, “urging the UK Government to publish a plan to end the use of foodbanks by 2030”.
The move was backed by charity bosses who have recorded record spikes in demand from hungry families as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.
Mr Stephens said the Bill “would move us one step closer to being a hunger-free country”.
“Over the last decade, the need for foodbanks has grown rapidly, with many now seeing record numbers coming through the doors,” he said.
“If Rishi Sunak is serious about tackling poverty UK-wide, he must support this Bill.”
Independent Food Aid Network coordinator Sabine Goodwin called on the Government to “resolve to tackle unconscionable levels of poverty in this country by building a strategy to permanently tackle food insecurity and end the need for all forms of charitable food aid”.
She added: “Everyone should be able to afford adequate and nutritious food."
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Britain’s biggest foodbank the Trussell Trust revealed in April that its 1,400 centres gave away nearly three million emergency food parcels in the previous 12 months.
The charity provided 2,986,203 aid packages - with enough ingredients for 26.8 million meals - as families were gripped by the living standards crisis.
The overall surge in demand was a 37% increase on the previous year when 2,183,625 packages were distributed.
Speaking ahead of Mr Stephens unveiling his Bill, the Trussell Trust’s policy director Helen Barnard told the Mirror: “Foodbank use in the UK is at an all-time high.
“Between April 2022 and March 2023, foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network gave out nearly three million emergency food parcels to people facing hardship; that’s unacceptable and requires urgent action to ensure no-one is forced to turn to charity because they can’t afford essentials.”
She demanded “long-term action from the UK Government … to secure the ambition shared across the whole country of a UK where everyone can afford the essentials”.
Ms Barnard added: “The UK Government must step up and develop an action plan to end the need for foodbanks across the UK, with the creation of a legal ‘essentials guarantee’ for the UK’s social security system at its heart, making sure that benefits like Universal Credit are always enough to afford the essentials we all need.”
A Government spokesman said: “We are protecting the most vulnerable with a £94billion support package for households and have helped nearly two million people out of absolute poverty after housing costs since 2010.
“This is on top of £3.5bn investment to help millions return to work including more free childcare support for parents, a 10.1% boost to benefits and an unprecedented increase to the National Living Wage.”
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