TAUNTON Foodbank has seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed in the area due to the cost-of-living crisis.

New figures released by Taunton Foodbank have revealed that 7,178 emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship across the area of Taunton Deane Parliamentary constituency– with 2,675 of these going to children.

This is a 50 per cent increase, in the last two years, from the situation five years ago as more local households are seeking help from the foodbank.

December was the busiest month for Taunton Foodbank, with 857 emergency food parcels provided by staff and volunteers.

Sue Weightman, manager at Taunton Foodbank, said: “The last two years have been very difficult for local people and more than 1,600 households have turned to the foodbank for help.

“935 of these households came to us for the first time this year and many told us that they used to donate to the foodbank but never expected they would need to use it themselves.

“75 per cent of those who have used the foodbank this year have come only once or twice.”

Taunton Foodbank works in partnership with Citizens Advice Somerset to provide on-site advice and support that makes it less likely someone will need the food bank again in the future.

This year our Citizens Advice Advisor has helped clients with over 900 different issues.

As part of the Advisor’s income maximisation work with clients, which includes form filling and charitable grant applications, it is estimated that financial gains of £59,000 were secured for Foodbank clients.

Taunton Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust’s network, which reports record levels of need in the last 12 months with more than 3.1 million emergency food parcels provided to people facing hardship between April 2023 and March 2024.

More than 1.1 million of these parcels were provided for children.

The Trussell Trust is calling for urgent reform of the social security system as it is currently failing in its most basic duty – to protect people from going without essentials we all need in life.

Alongside many other organisations, the anti-poverty charity is urging the UK Government to introduce an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ into Universal Credit to ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support to afford the essentials.

The Trussell Trust has set out the crucial actions the next UK Government must take to support people and ensure everyone has enough money to afford life’s essentials: trusselltrust.org/manifesto