Get our free Morning Headlines email with news from reporters around the world
Sign up for our free Morning Headlines email
Food banks have seen a “worrying” increase in the number of pensioners needing emergency food parcels over the past year, new figures show as the cost of living crisis deepens.
Foodbank charity TheTrussell Trust delivered a record 3.1 million emergency food parcels to people across the UK in 2023/4, an increase of over 100,000 on the previous year.
Part of this increase was due to an increase in the number of pensioner households in need of assistance, with 179,000 parcels provided to older people in this age group. This is a 27% increase over the previous year.
Emergency food is food packed to last one person for three to seven days. Foodbanks also reported that more people turned to foodbanks for the first time in 2023/4.
Last year, 655,000 people used a Trussell Trust food bank for the first time, a 40% increase on five years ago. Two-thirds of all support provided by food banks last year went to families with children.
179,000 emergency food parcels delivered to pensioner households in the past year (AFP, Getty Images)
Leeds South and East Foodbank manager Wendy Doyle said the bank had seen an “amazing” increase in families and pensioners using its services over the past year. The number of families increased by 34%, and the number of pensioners increased by 27%.
Furthermore, she added: She said: 'Our volunteers say they are dealing with pensioners who can't afford to put food on the table because they have to pay high energy bills and it's a choice they have to make. It is said that it is a thing.
“A woman who came to the food bank recently said she had never had to rely on charity before. She had always managed to get by while raising four children on her own. He said that when he came to the food bank, he was forced to choose between keeping warm and eating.
The trust's chief executive Emma Levy said food banks should not be allowed to “become the new normal” (AFP via Getty Images)
The Trussell Trust, which runs a national network of more than 1,000 foodbanks, is calling on the government to introduce an essential goods guarantee into Universal Credit. This will ensure that everyone has access to a protected amount of financial support to purchase basic necessities.
They also warned that plans to end the Household Support Fund in September would have “devastating consequences” for British families.
Their warnings came after former Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched an emergency plan to tackle child poverty, which calls for funding for the Sure Start programme.
Mr Brown called on Jeremy Hunt to require banks to keep some of their deposits with the Bank of England so the government could collect £2bn in interest payments.
Emma Levy, the trust's chief executive, said food banks should not be allowed to “become the new normal”.
She added: “Food banks are not the answer. They are there to help people for as long as they are needed, but our political leaders have made it clear that everyone has enough money to buy the necessities. We must take bold action to build our future.”
Ian Porter, senior policy adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said the figures revealed “the painful economic realities facing families”.