NEW figures released by Taunton Foodbank today reveal 6815 emergency food parcels were provided to residents who could not afford the essentials between April 2021 and March 2022 – 3,068 of these went to children.

This number of parcels is a 7 per cent increase from 2019-20.

The food bank believes the increase in people needing support is due to people’s finances being hit by the increasing cost of living at a time when social security payments are not rising in line with inflation and many people are in insecure or low paid work and rely on these payments to make ends meet.

The food bank is part of the Trussell Trust network, which has experienced its busiest winter outside of the height of the pandemic in 2020.

Food banks in The Trussell Trust network provided more than 2.1 million parcels to people with the lowest incomes across the UK from April 1 2021 to March 31 2022.

This is a 14 per cent increase in pre-pandemic figures in 2019-20 as more and more people across the country are unable to afford the essentials we all need to eat, stay warm, dry, and clean.

The need for food banks in the Trussell Trust network has accelerated throughout the past six months, and food bank managers are warning of a growing crisis following the cut to Universal Credit in October 2021, as the cost of living continues to soar:

• July – September 2021 saw a 10 per cent increase in comparison to the same period in 2019
• October – December 2021 saw a 17 per cent increase in comparison to the same period in 2019
• January – February 2022 saw a 22 per cent increase in comparison to the same period in 2020 Taunton Foodbank is clear that its team will always do all they can to help people in the community – but they should not be needing to distribute emergency food parcels on this scale.


Sue Weightman, Taunton Foodbank manager, said: “There’ll always be a role for strong community groups looking out for their neighbours, and we're so grateful for the generous support of our volunteers and to local people who have donated to the food bank.

“Together, you’ve made sure that local people who can’t afford the essentials don’t face hunger.

“The support we see across the community for people on the lowest incomes is incredible. But it shouldn’t be needed.

“We should all be free from hunger. No one should be pushed deeper into poverty without enough money for the things we all need. It’s not right that anyone needs our food bank in the first place - everyone should be able to afford the essentials.

“At the moment the situation is only set to get worse, as this is just the start of the cost of living crisis. But we know what’s pushing people to need foodbanks like ours, so we know what needs to be done.

“People cannot afford to wait any longer for support – UK, national and local governments at all levels must use their powers and take urgent action now to strengthen our social security system so it keeps up with the true cost of living.”