It's going to be a tough Christmas holiday for foodbanks, with the UK's biggest provider expecting to hand out more than three million meals to hungry families.
Soaring food prices, interest rates and huge energy bills are being blamed for what the Trussell Trust is expecting to be its hardest winter yet amid the cost of living crisis.
This time last year, the Trust - which runs more than 1,300 foodbanks throughout the UK, including many in the North East, gave away 257,500 emergency parcels, each containing ingredients for three meals a day for three days, the equivalent of 2,317,500 meals. But the Trussell Trust has already given way more than 32% more parcels between April and September than the same period last year, so are braced for a busy festive time.
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The Mirror has worked out that, should the current trend continue, an extra 82,400 parcels will be handed out, making a total of 339,900 packages containing the equivalent of approximately 3,059,100 meals. This sum does not include parcels provided by hundreds of foodbanks other than the Trussell Trust, so the real figure will be significantly higher.
The Trussell Trust' s boss Emma Revie told the Mirror: “Foodbanks in our network are set to face their hardest winter yet as the cost-of-living emergency is forcing more people through their doors. The public has continued to be generous with its donations, but the rising level of need means that we are giving out more food than we are receiving. Foodbanks are having to buy twice as much food as they did last year and, combined with rising operational costs, that is making it hard for them to keep going. We are expecting that this winter will be the hardest yet for food banks and the people they support.
Earlier this year, foodbanks in the region revealed that they are having to spend thousands of pounds as donations dry up due to the cost of living crisis., after the Trussell Trust highlighted the issues facing their volunteers as families find they can no longer afford to donate as their budgets become more stretched.
Sam Gilchrist, of the independent West Northumberland Foodbank, said that although her service was not part of the Trussell Trust, the struggle was familiar. "We buy in fresh food like a lot of foodbanks have to these days," she said. "We bought in around 23% of all the stock we needed to deliver 7,300 food parcels in the last 12 months, and this included £5,600 on fresh food - mainly fruit, veg, bread and eggs. We also issued £4,100 worth of shopping vouchers so people can buy their own fresh food at supermarkets and at some local independent grocers and butchers."
Juliet Saunders, who founded the charity Feeding Families in Blaydon, said: " During this year we have seen most of our donations from the public dry up so it's required more budget to buy in what we need. We have increased our spend per month five-fold during the year. Our output has doubled and with increases in food prices and the donation drop it has been a difficult situation."
If you want to donate to a foodbank, the best way to start is to ask the foodbank which items they need. The Trussell Trust has reported an increase in demand for 'cold parcels' or food that does not need to be cooked at its foodbanks, but different areas may have different needs.
As well as food, the Trussell Trust has comprised a list other items often in short supply, such as:
- Free-from food
- Tin openers
- Toiletries, including toothpaste, soap and hand wash
- Toilet rolls
- Household products such as cleaning materials and washing-up liquid
- Nappies, wipes and baby toiletries
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