Demand unprecedented, Devon food bank says

There is a 42% increase in food parcels handed out compared to 2022 in the wider south west

A food bank in Devon said demand was "unprecedented" as more people used its services.

Karen Fitzgerald, a trustee at Trussell Trust food bank in Ivybridge, said the number of food bank users had "escalated".

The Trussell Trust said it had provided nearly 248,000 emergency food parcels to residents across the wider south west region in the last 12 months.

Figures showed 94,221 of the parcels were for children. 

The trust said it was the highest number of parcels food banks in the south west of England network - which includes as far north as Gloucestershire - have ever distributed in a single year.

The figures show a 42% increase compared to last year.  

Regarding the Ivybridge food bank, Mrs Fitzgerald said: "This is unprecedented. I've never had three months on the trot where the amount of food going out far exceeds the amount of food going in.

"But I think everybody's in the same boat - there isn't enough money to go around."

She said the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 prompted an increased demand in food bank services, and it had "remained consistently high" since then.

"We've had people come in and literally break down in tears," she said.

"One lady a couple of weeks ago in her early sixties had never come into a food bank before and was so embarrassed and so ashamed.

"She literally fell to her knees. It was awful."

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it was "committed to eradicating poverty" and said it had increased benefits by 10.1%.

A spokesperson said it also made an increase to the national living wage this month.

The spokesperson said: "We are also providing record levels of direct financial support for the most vulnerable - £1,200 last year and a further £1,350 in 2023/24, with over eight million families starting to receive their first £301 Cost of Living instalment from yesterday (24 April) - while the Household Support Fund is helping people with essential costs."

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