300% increase in food bank use in Leicester "Shocking to the core" says MP

Figures released by the Trussell Trust show that the use of their food banks in Leicester has risen by more than 300% during the pandemic.

The data is from April 2020 to March 2021 and is compared to the year previous.

In the previous year 1,750 food parcels were given out to adults in the City while last year 7,061 were given out by the trusts 9 Leicester centres.

Last year children in Leicester received 2,142 food parcels from the trust, an increase of 166%.

More than 133,000 food parcels were given out by the trust across the East Midlands last year, a rise of 30%.

"It is shocking to the core" said Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe. "it is extremely alarming, their most shocking statistic that the number of food parcels delivered to adults has increased 300% since the start of the pandemic. "

"This is just one organisation, this is not therefore not a complete picture of food bank usage in Leicester and the actually figure, therefore will be much, much higher."

"These figures are startling, they are shocking to the core. Leicester has to look at the deeper inequality it faces over and above all other cites."

"Whilst they are current necessary due to wide spread poverty in Leicester, I believe that the over reliance on food banks is a symptom of our unacceptably uneven society. "