Oxfam fears rise in foodbank use is 'tip of the iceberg'
Oxfam's Director of UK Poverty, Chris Johnes, has warned that welfare reforms could tip even more people into food poverty:
These shocking figures show that a perfect storm of spiralling living costs, lack of decent, secure jobs and benefit changes are making it impossible for many people to feed themselves or their families.
It's clear there is a massive hole in the safety net when so many more people are being forced to rely on emergency food handouts.
We are worried this could be just the tip of the iceberg as changes to the welfare system already in the pipeline could rip apart the safety net with devastating consequences for those who rely on it.
A new project in Lincolnshire aimed at helping people struggling to put food on the table has had success with donations before it has even opened.
Organisers at Boston Food Bank, which officially opens on Tuesday at St Christopher's Church, in Fenside, say they've been amazed by the generosity of shoppers at the town's supermarkets with some people donating whole trolley loads of food.
A charity is opening up a food bank in Rotherham today to help struggling families put food on the table. The Trussell Trust helps local churches and communities provide a life line for low incomes families by providing emergency supplies. Its one of 125 run by the charity across the UK.
Hull Foodbank is at the Co-op in Cottingham collecting all kinds of non-perishable food from the public to feed local people in crisis.Supermarket collections are one of the main ways the Foodbank is stocked and with the Foodbank busier than ever Hull Foodbank is asking people to give generously.
Hull's Foodbank aims to help people through short term crisis by providing emergency food parcels. Hull Foodbank centre also provides support and signposting to help combat the long term problem.
Volunteers will be at Co-op in Cottingham from 9am-1pm.
Since opening in November, we have seen over 400 people who need food parcels. This is due to a variety of different reasons; redundancy, large utility bills, bereavement and benefit delays." says Sarah Sidwell, Hull Foodbank manager. "The current economic climate means more and more people are struggling to put food on the table, so we really need local citizens to give what they can to help. This is a great opportunity to help those in need."