Wiltshire charity demands next government acts on living standards crisis
The Trussell Trust says the issue isn't going to fade away
A food poverty charity based in Wiltshire has told Greatest Hits Radio that the issue of struggling families needs a robust plan to fix it.
The Trussell Trust, which has its headquarters in Salisbury, has said politicians need to face up to the scale of the problem as more and more families are plunged into poverty across the country.
Helen Barnard, Director of Policy, Research and Impact, from the charity said reports to their foodbanks of children rummaging through school bins in search of something to eat are 'incredibly worrying'.
Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found children are arriving at school hungry, tired and emotionally fragile because they can see their parents struggling.
Ms Barnard said it's hurting children's future prospects, as well as wrecking their childhood right now.
"It is completely unjust, isn't it, that you have so many children whose childhood is being blighted by the fact they're found this just can't afford the essentials and their prospects for a better life in the future are also being hit by the fact that they are not being given a fair chance to learn to get the qualifications to maybe create something better for their own family in the future," she said.
She added that every child in Britain deserves to go to school warm, dry and secure with what's happening at home. This, Ms Barnard said, will allow children to throw themselves into learning and playing at school.
But the current situation is ripping that away from them.
Ms Barnard said political leaders need to recognise this isn't a sudden or temporary issue and not one that will 'fade away'.
"All our politicians, they've been talking about getting the economy going, they've been talking about reducing pressure on health services, improving education.
"None of those things are going to happen unless they get to grips with this," she said.
Some of the solutions can be implemented straight away, Ms Barnard said.
She and the Trussell Trust are calling for universal credit to always cover the cost of essentials - although some people don't get the full amount.
"Lots of people don't even get the full amount because it is knocked off to pay back debt to the government, which is created by them. You have to wait five weeks for your first Universal Credit payment, so you take an advance and then you find out it's a loan you've got to pay it back out of your benefits," Ms Barnard said.
She said this can be fixed immediately by ensuring debt repayments don't take people below the level where they can sustain themselves.
There are issues for people who do have work - but the income is irregular as it's shift or agency work.
MS Barnard said: "You haven't got a steady wage coming in. If we gave those workers more security at work, then actually their wage would be able to keep themselves and their family in a decent position and they wouldn't need to turn to a food bank or to, you know, their local primary school for help with just the basics of life."
The charity is urging people to reach out for help, saying 'you are not alone' and that there is no shame in doing so as you're doing everything you can.