Trussell Trust provided over 11,300 emergency food parcels in Wiltshire in last year
Charity calls on the government to act now
New figures show that the number of emergency food parcels handed out by the Trussell Trust in Wiltshire increased again in the last year.
Between April 1st 2021 and March 31st 2022, 11,301 were given out to adults and children in the county.
That's up from 11,064 the 12 months before.
There's also been a big national increase, with 14% more food parcels distributed in the last year.
2,173,158 were received by children and adults across the country.
The charity says it’s witnessing an "accelerating crisis" across the UK as the need for emergency food dramatically increased in the past six months.
This follows the £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit and the soaring rise in living costs that people are facing
In the six months from October to March alone, there were more parcels handed out in the UK than the whole year in 2016/17.
Governments at all levels are now being called on to take urgent action and strengthen the social security system to keep up with the true cost of living.
The charity says in the longer term, the government must introduce a commitment in the benefits system to ensure that everyone has enough money in their pockets to be prevented from falling into destitution.
Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said:
“People in the South West are telling us they’re skipping meals so they can feed their children. That they are turning off essential appliances so they can afford internet access for their kids to do their homework.
“How can this be right in a society like ours? And yet food banks in our network tell us this is only set to get worse as their communities are pushed deeper into financial hardship. No one’s income should fall so dangerously low that they cannot afford to stay fed, warm and dry.
“There is still time for the UK government to do the right thing. We are calling on the UK government to bring benefits in line with the true cost of living. As an urgent first step benefits should be increased by at least 7%, keeping pace with increases in the cost of living. In the longer term, we need the government to introduce a commitment in the benefits system to ensure that everyone has enough money in their pockets to be prevented from falling into destitution.
“By failing to make benefits payments realistic for the times we face, the government now risks turning the cost of living crisis into a national emergency.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said:
"We recognise the pressures on the cost of living and we are doing what we can to help, including spending £22 billion across the next financial year to support people with energy bills and cut fuel duty.
"For the hardest hit, we're putting an average of £1,000 more per year into the pockets of working families on Universal Credit, have also boosted the minimum wage by more than £1,000 a year for full-time workers and our Household Support Fund is there to help with the cost of everyday essentials."