LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest food bank
network said the amount of emergency food parcels it distributed
rose 37% to a record 3 million in the year to March as more
people faced hardship in a cost-of-living crisis that shows
little sign of easing.
The Trussell Trust, which supports a network of 1,300 food
bank centres across the United Kingdom, said on Wednesday more
than a million parcels were provided for children.
It said over the year, 760,000 people used a food bank in
its network for the first time, an increase of 38% year-on-year.
This included an unprecedented rise in the number of
employed people, who are no longer able to balance a low income
against rising living costs.
Britons have been pressured for more than a year by high
inflation which has outstripped pay growth for almost all
workers.
Last month government forecasters estimated UK households
were in the midst of the biggest two-year squeeze in living
standards since comparable records started in the 1950s.
Official UK data published last week showed overall consumer
price inflation fell to 10.1% in March. However, prices of food
and non-alcoholic drinks were 19.1% higher in March than a year
earlier, the biggest such rise since August 1977.
Grocery inflation in April was 17.3%, according to industry
data.
The Trussell Trust also noted that the number of parcels
provided in the year to March was more than double the annual
amount distributed by food banks five years ago.
"The continued increase in parcel numbers over the last five
years indicates that it is ongoing low levels of income and a
social security system that isn’t fit for purpose that are
forcing more people to need food banks, rather than just the
recent cost of living crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic," Emma
Revie, the trust's chief executive, said.
She called on the UK government to ensure the benefits
system covers essential costs.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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