Almost 2,000 emergency food parcels were given to local people in last year, Malvern Hills Food Bank reveals – a 31 per cent increase

Malvern Hills Food Bank provided 1,963 three-day emergency food parcels to local people from April 2018 to March 2019. 716 of them went to children.

The figures from Malvern Hills Food Bank are a 31 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The charity believes the increase is due to more people struggling with benefit payments, benefit delays, issues with Universal Credit such as the five-week wait, and insecure and poorly paid work, leading to an income which is insufficient to meet essential costs.

The food bank’s figures feed into a larger national picture with a record 19 per cent increase in food bank use across the UK reported by the Trussell Trust.

Malvern Hills Food Bank is backing calls from the Trussell Trust to ensure the benefits system can and will protect people from poverty.

Malvern Hills Food Bank shares the concerns of other food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network about Universal Credit and in particular the five-week wait for first payment - it is not the only benefit payment people referred to the food bank have experienced problems with, but the issues faced by local people moving on to the new system are significant.

Peter Buchanan, chair of trustees for Malvern Hills Food Bank, said: “No one should need a food bank’s help and we want to see an end to local people needing emergency food. It doesn’t have to be this way - our national insurance and benefits system should protect us all from being swept into poverty.

"Universal Credit should be part of the solution but currently the five-week wait is leaving many without enough money to cover the basics. This isn’t right.

“Until we reach a future where food banks are no longer needed, we’ll continue to provide vital support when it matters most. We’re dedicated to ensuring that people in our community without enough money for food are able to access emergency support.

"This vital work in the community has only been possible in the last year because of the incredible, generosity shown by local people in donating food, time and funds. Thank you.”