New figures released by Lynn Food Bank have revealed almost a 50% increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed compared to the previous year.
The food bank said it gave out 2,764 emergency food parcels to 6,526 people facing hardship across West Norfolk in the last year – with a third of these going to children. This is a 46% rise on the year before.
The level of demand was particularly high in winter – with December being the busiest month for the food bank, when 315 parcels were provided by staff and volunteers.
Helen Gilbert, project manager at Lynn Food Bank said: “The last 12 months have been exceptionally busy with many local people struggling with the soaring costs of utilities and food which has meant that demand has been outstripping donations.
“Everyone should be able to afford the essentials, but more and more people are simply unable to make ends meet.”
Helen said the team is in need of more volunteers to help at its Distribution Centre to handle the increasing number of people requiring help.
Lynn Food Bank is part of the Trussell Trust’s network, which has itself reported record levels of need in the last 12 months with almost 3 million 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. ”
She said food banks are not a permanent fix for the issues causing the demand.
“Lynn 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 Lynn Food Bank 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 Norfolk 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.”
It comes as the Trussell Trust has joined forces with Joseph Rowntree Foundation to urge the government to create an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ law that would make sure Universal Credit payments always, at a minimum, provide enough to the cover cost of essentials such as food, utilities and vital household goods.
To find out more about Lynn Food Bank or ways to support the team, visit the website at kingslynn.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/
The food bank’s opening hours are 12pm-2pm on Monday to Friday, it is closed over weekends and on bank holidays.
