Dorset food banks report rise in people using services

The Trussell Trust said it is not right that so many people across the UK are facing destitution and warned the need for food banks will continue to rise over winter.

In Dorset, 1,054 emergency food parcels – containing three or seven days' worth of supplies – were handed out by the Trussell Trust between April and September, but these figures do not include the number of people helped by other groups providing food aid such as community organisations and independent food banks - who have also reported a rise in demand.

Portland Food Bank manager, Rosemarie Husain, said: “Coming towards Christmas, usage always goes up. I would say that there have been more families coming where our clients have changed.

“I can only presume it is because of the £20 reduction in universal credit, rent has gone up as has fuel and food prices so people are struggling.”

The Portland Food Bank has recently changed its criteria to include a professional referral to ensure ‘the right people are getting help’ having omitted that rule in the pandemic.

Ms Husain said that the number of those using the food bank has definitely ‘risen’ compared to pre-pandemic and she only expects that to continue, although some people who used the service in lockdown ‘seem to have sorted themselves out’.

• Read more: 'Thousands of people in west Dorset will be affected by £20 Universal Credit cut'

Dorchester Food Bank also says they have seen a rise compared to 2019 but it is difficult to calculate how much higher.

Tracey Hughes, co-ordinator at Dorchester Food Bank, said: “It’s hard to tell because we are busy and always are but it’s too early to tell how much usage has gone up.

“It starts to build up as the weather gets worse then just dips. It’s hard to generalise.”

The Trussell Trust said the number of parcels distributed, 1,054, was up from 1,032 during the same period in 2019, but below the 1,383 handed out last year.

They were among 935,749 parcels handed out by the charity across the UK over the six-month period, including 73,226 in the South West.

This means around 5,100 emergency food parcels were provided for people across the UK every day, including almost 2,000 for children, which the charity expects this to rise to more than 7,000 a day in December.

• Read more: Universal Credit cuts 'could push working families below breadline'

Emma Revie, Trussell Trust chief executive, said: “Everyone in the UK should be able to afford the essentials – to buy their own food and heat their homes.

“Yet food banks in our network continue to see more and more people facing destitution with an increase in food parcels going to children. This is not right.”