New figures reveal that thousands of emergency food parcels were sent to people in Wrexham and Flintshire between April and September this year.

The figures released today (Wednesday, November 7) by the Trussell Trust reveal that a total of 5,152 emergency food parcels were distributed by food banks in the charity’s network in Wrexham between April 1 and September 30, 2023.

In that same period, 5,414 emergency food parcels were distributed in Flintshire.

The Wales-wide total was 88,518 which is the most parcels that the network has ever distributed at this point in the year and represents a 15% increase from the same period in 2022. 

Low income, especially from social security, debt, health conditions, and issues with social security payments such as delays or sanctions, was the main reason people were left with no option but to turn to a food bank for help. 

In Wrexham, the total was broken down into parcel delivery for adults and children, with 1,686 going to children and 3,466 for adults. In Flintshire, this was 2,185 for children and 3,229 for adults.

In Wales, a record 32,150 food parcels were provided for 19,600 children living in families who could not afford the essentials. This is a 14% increase compared to the same period last year, reflecting the continuing rise in need for the support provided by food banks.    

Furthermore, the charity has reported that an alarming 23,600 people have needed to use a food bank for the first time in the past six months in Wales, warning that food banks are at ‘breaking point’.

The Trussell Trust believes that the situation is unlikely to change in the coming months with this stark new data leading them to forecast that food banks in their network will distribute more than a million emergency food parcels between December 2023 and February 2024 the equivalent of providing a parcel every eight seconds this winter. 

In order to reduce these relentless levels of need, the Trussell Trust is calling on the UK Government to use the upcoming Autumn Statement to build on its work to protect households on the lowest incomes and for the Welsh Government to develop a national plan to reduce and prevent the need for emergency food aid.

MOST READ:

Susan Lloyd-Selby, Policy and Public Affairs Network Lead Wales at the Trussell Trust said: “These statistics are extremely alarming. An increasing number of children are growing up in families facing hunger, forced to turn to food banks to survive.

“A generation is growing up believing that it’s normal to see a food bank in every community. This is not right. 

“Rising hunger and hardship have devastating consequences for individuals and our communities, damage the nation’s health and hold back our economy. People in work, as well as people who cannot work, are increasingly being pushed into debt and forced to turn to a food bank to survive.  

“That’s why the UK Government must build on its work to protect people from increasingly severe hardship and commit to putting an Essentials Guarantee into legislation, to embed in our social security system the widely supported principle that, at a minimum, Universal Credit should protect people from going without essentials. 

“We are also urging the Welsh Government to do more to support people facing financial hardship, starting with developing a national plan to reduce and prevent the need for emergency food aid.

"Furthermore, the Welsh Government should ensure that the Child Poverty Strategy targets action on the children at greatest risk of poverty and includes metrics which capture people’s inability to afford the essentials, such as food insecurity, destitution and levels of need for food banks.”

The Trussell Trust is encouraging people to show their support for people facing hardship by signing a petition urging UK political party leaders to support the introduction of an Essentials Guarantee to ensure that the basic rate of University Credit at least covers life’s essentials, such as food and bills.