Cost-of-living crisis sees demand on Wrexham’s foodbanks soar

A record number of emergency food parcels have been given to people in need across Wrexham in just six months.

New figures released by the Trussell Trust today show that between April 1 and September 30 of this year 5,152 food parcels were distributed locally from the charity’s nine locations.

Of these 3,466 were given to adults and 1,686 to children.

Today’s figures show that demand on foodbanks have soared in recent years, with 2,190 distributed in the same six month period in 2018.

This has risen year on year in the same period to 2,765 (2019), 3,134 (2020), 3,072 (2021) and 4,320 (2022).

Low incomes, especially from social security, debt, health conditions and issues with social security payments such as delays or sanctions were the main reasons people were left with no option but to turn to a food bank for help.

Across the UK a record 540,000 food parcels were provided for more than 265,000 children living in families who could not afford the essentials.

This is an 11% increase compared to the same period last year, reflecting the continuing rise in need for the support provided by food banks.

The new data also revealed that 65% of all the parcels provided by Trussell Trust food banks between April and September this year were for families with children.

Furthermore, the charity has reported that an alarming 320,000 people have needed to use a food bank for the first time in the past six months, warning that food banks are at ‘breaking point’ as more and more people in communities across the UK find themselves unable afford the essentials.

The Trussell Trust believes that the situation is unlikely to change in the coming months with this stark new data leading them to forecast that food banks in their network will distribute more than a million emergency food parcels between December 2023 and February 2024 – the equivalent of providing a parcel every eight seconds this winter.

In order to reduce these relentless levels of need, the Trussell Trust is calling on the UK Government to use the upcoming Autumn Statement to build on its work to protect households on the lowest incomes.

Emma Revie, Chief Executive at the Trussell Trust said: “These statistics are extremely alarming. An increasing number of children are growing up in families facing hunger, forced to turn to food banks to survive.

“A generation is growing up believing that it’s normal to see a food bank in every community. This is not right.

“Rising hunger and hardship have devastating consequences for individuals and our communities, damage the nation’s health and hold back our economy.

“People in work, as well as people who cannot work, are increasingly being pushed into debt and forced to turn to a food bank to survive.

“That’s why the UK Government must build on its work to protect people from increasingly severe hardship and commit to putting an Essentials Guarantee into legislation, to embed in our social security system the widely supported principle that, at a minimum, Universal Credit should protect people from going without essentials.

“We recognise this change cannot happen overnight, which is why we are also calling on the Government to urgently confirm in the Autumn Statement that benefits will rise in line with inflation next April, and to reduce the burden of debt deductions which drive unacceptable levels of hardship.”

The Trussell Trust is encouraging people to show their support for people facing hardship by signing a petition urging UK political party leaders to support the introduction of an Essentials Guarantee to ensure that the basic rate of Universal Credit at least covers life’s essentials, such as food and bills.