More than 95 children a day were in need of an emergency food parcel over the past year according to figures from the Trussell Trust.
The charity said that its food banks have helped more people in Northern Ireland than ever before last year as the cost of living crisis adds further pressure onto households with around 26,000 families needing to use a food bank for the first time.
From April 2022 to March 2023, the Trussell Trust says that it has provided 81,084 emergency food parcels, a 29% increase on the year before and a 141% increase compared to five years ago.
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The winter months proved to have a significant impact on struggling households, with December 2022 being the busiest month in the Trussell Trust's history in Northern Ireland with it providing 12,262 emergency food parcels.
Richard Porter, Project manager at the Newtownards Foodbank, the first to be opened by the Trussell Trust in Northern Ireland in 2011, said that he has seen first hand how the level of need for support has grown in communities across Northern Ireland and it is reaching a point where demand for help is greater than the donations foodbanks are receiving.
He said: "This past year we have seen a level of need for support that we have never seen before, with more people reaching out for help than at the height of the Covid pandemic.
"Newtownards is the first foodbank opened by the Trussell Trust in Northern Ireland and it has been quite incredible to see just how much the rising cost of living and other pressures have impacted communities and it is not right that there are hardworking people out there struggling to keep their homes warm and feed their families.
"We are seeing people, who you would consider to have good jobs in governmental agencies, coming to us for help and people are now in the position where a household emergency or unforeseen expense like a broken washing machine, can really knock people back and leave them with no other option but to go in debt.
"We are even getting to the point where the need for support is greater than the amount of donations we are receiving. That is not to say that people are not supporting the foodbank, because we have a great community who donate to and help us, but due to the increased numbers needing food parcels we don't have the same amount of resources.
"As the Trussell Trust report highlights, changes are needed in order to make sure that people are able to feed their families, with Universal Credit and other benefits just not doing enough against the rising cost of living."
The South Belfast Foodbank said that it has seen a significant increase in the numbers of people looking support over the past year, with it helping nearly 300 additional people per month.
Bruce Gardiner-Crehan, project manager at the South Belfast Foodbank said:"We have noticed a large increase over the past year in people reaching out to use for support. In March 2023 we fed 745 people and during that same period in 2022 we fed 425, so that is a 75% increase and it has become very noticeable and obvious.
"The increased cost of essentials has been a huge factor along with the price hikes to fuel, gas and electricity. It's mentioned all the time when having conversations to our clients. It feels like it is just relentless at the minute.
"The Northern Ireland Executive has the power to tackle poverty and can do this through the development of a longer-term strategy. The NI Executive has already agreed to this, but it still needs to be approved. Also, a cash-based approach is far more preferable than emergency food supplied by the likes of our foodbank - good though it may be. People would prefer to have money so they can spend it in supermarkets and not have to turn to foodbanks.
"Rising income in line with inflation, lowering taxes that hit the poorest - these are some more tangible things that governments and employers can do - to protect people from falling through the cracks."
Karen Mullan, Project Manager at Foyle Foodbank, said that there has been an increase in working people needing assistance from the foodbank and that they are seeing more and more people going into debt in order to feed their families and heat their homes.
She said: “We have seen an increase of people using our food bank for the first time, many of those are working.
“This winter has been extremely difficult for far too many, who did not have enough to cover essential household bills. We are seeing more and more people forced into debt to heat their homes and feed their families.
“We are grateful for the support and generosity of local people and businesses who have helped us keep going over the last year, but this is not a long term solution.”
The Trussell Trust has said that its long term goal is to end the need for foodbanks in Northern Ireland with recent YouGov polling carried out on its behalf showing that the majority of people in Northern Ireland (76%) think that food banks should not be needed in the UK. A strong majority (95%) agreed that everyone should be able to buy enough food for themselves and their family.
Jonny Currie, Network Lead in Northern Ireland at the Trussell Trust, said: “These new statistics are extremely concerning and show that an increasing number of people in Northern Ireland are being left with no option but to turn to charitable, volunteer-run organisations to get by. 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 access food banks, rather than just the recent cost of living crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone in Northern Ireland should be able to afford the essentials – to buy their own food and heat their homes. This has got harder in the last year, as has been shown by the 26,000 people needing an emergency food parcel for the first time and a huge increase in children needing our support. This is not right.
“For too long people 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. We also need the urgent restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly to put in place the policies that will protect local communities.”
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