Over 5500 Wrexham People Have Used Foodbanks In Past Year

New figures have revealed that over 5,500 people in Wrexham have used foodbanks in the last 12 months.

The figures, which have been released by Trussell Trust Foodbank show since April 1st 2013 – 31st March 2014, 5515 people in Wrexham have been provided with emergency food.

There’s no definition in the table released saying the numbers are separate people, but that’s what implied from figures

In total 913,138 people across the UK were provided with emergency food, 79,049 of which were from Wales. This is compared to 346,992 people in the UK who were provided with emergency food in 2012-13.

Figures show that Wrexham has the fourth largest amount of people who have been provided with emergency food in Wales. Overall Bridgend County Borough (8721), Flintshire (6367), Cardiff County (8638) and Wrexham (5515) were amongst the highest areas in Wales who were provided with emergency food.

A breakdown of Wrexham’s figures show that 3526 people provided with emergency food were adults, while 1989 were children.

Speaking about the figures, Wrexham MP Ian Lucas said: “The thousands of people who are being referred are being sent to food banks because they are in a desperate situation. I have seen a notable rise in cases where people are not receiving benefits simply because of backlogs in the system – and vulnerable people who have been left waiting months for vital help because of incompetence in the way their cases have been dealt with.

“Five thousand people needing a food bank in Wrexham county alone is, surely, a sign that something is very wrong.”

Since 2008 there has been a rapid increase in the number of Trussell Foodbanks in Wales, with 35 Trussell Foodbanks currently located across Wales. This is a stark contrast to the one Trussell Trust Foodbank from 2007 / 2008.

The food provided in foodbanks is largely provided by donations from the public, particularly through ‘Supermarket Collections’.

However to be viable for emergency food, a person must first be ‘identified as a person in crisis’ by professionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, welfare officers, the police etc. They are then issued with a foodbank voucher, which can then be exchanged for three days worth of emergency food.

More information about the Wrexham Trussell Trust Foodbank can be found on their website here.