Norfolk foodbank manager says the demand on them is "unsustainable"
Norwich foodbank handed out 12,538 food parcels between April 2023 and March 2024
The manager of a foodbank in Norfolk is warning the next Government that the increasing use of foodbanks is "un-sustainable"- and cannot become normalised.
Data from The Trussell Trust showing that the number of emergency food parcels they hand out in Norfolk has surged by 80% over the last five years.
They handed out 12,538 of these packages between April 2023 and March of this year.
A rise of over four thousand on what they gave out between the same period over 2018 and 2019.
"That list is growing"
Hannah Worsley is from Norwich Foodbank:
"We used to do just food, toiletries and pet food- but we're now partnered with a range of different charities to make sure that we're saying to people, 'what help can we give you, to ensure that you don't need to come back to us".
"We have seen a reduction in donations, people have been very generous and are giving us money though and that means we can go shopping for what we need. We are putting out on our social media pages, every monday, the items that we most need each week. Unfortunately that list is growing".
She has this message for the next Government:
"What will you do to ensure that everyone can afford the essentials? We work with a range of charities- like British Red Cross- and they're looking at the same sort of issues around housing and debt".