'Fivefold rise' in foodbanks use

Pamela receives food from The Trussell Trust foodbanks, she says without them she would have to borrow money and it would be "chaos."

Oxfam's Director of UK Poverty, Chris Johnes, has warned that welfare reforms could tip even more people into food poverty:

Read: Rise in use of foodbanks in numbers

People who arrive for help at foodbanks are referred by doctors, social workers, schools liaison officers or advisers at the CAB and Jobcentre Plus.

Chris Mould, the Trussell Trust 's Executive Chairman, said: "We cannot ignore the hunger on our doorstep. Politicians across the political spectrum need to recognise the real extent of UK food poverty and create fresh policies that better address its underlying causes.

"This is more important than ever as the impact of the biggest reforms to the welfare state since it began start to take effect."

The government has said that it already provides a "safety net" to benefit claimants who need help with food, adding that some of the increase seen by the Trussell Trust could be due to Job Centres referring people to their service:

The Trussell Trust says the number of people turning to them for help was a "wake-up call to the nation". The charity claims the impact of welfare reforms that came into force this month has already sparked an increase in numbers passing through their doors.

• Of those helped over the last year 126,889 were children and most recipients were working-age families
• 30% of people helped were referred as a result of benefit delays
• 15% because of benefit changes
• Overall, the charity helped nearly 100,000 more people than it had anticipated

Source: The Trussell Trust

There has been a big jump in the number of people relying on emergency supplies from Trussell Trust foodbanks, with a fivefold increase since the coalition Government came to power.

The Trussell Trust charity says in the last financial year 346,992 people received three days' worth of emergency food. That compares to 61,468 in 2010/11.