SHOCKING new numbers paint a depressing picture of families struggling to feed their children with a staggering 2,784 food packages distributed to children during the pandemic.
John McKay, chairman of the Helping Hands Food Bank in Basildon, says he has only had two days off since March last year, and some families were even moved to tears after receiving support.
A new report from the Trussell Trust, which supports a network of food banks across the region, has shown how many thousands of children are starving.
According to the Southend Foodbank, operated by the Trust, certain stations have been hit hardest – including the Kursaal, Milton and St. Luke stations. They say that even the working population still cannot afford to eat.
In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of emergency food packages were distributed to children in South Essex.
According to the report, the Trussell Trust distributed 6,218 emergency food packages in Southend between 2020 and 2021.
Of these, 2,784 went to children – that’s 54 per week.
In Basildon, the Trust distributed 2,042 emergency food packages during the reporting period. Of these, 910 went to children – that’s 18 per week. Overall, this was an increase of ten percent compared to the total number of the previous year.
However, the Trussell Trust has warned that its data does not reveal nearly the full extent of demand across the country. An unprecedented number of people are being supported by other organizations that have sprung up during the pandemic.
Helping Hands
Mr. McKay, of Helping Hands at Ballards Walk, an independent charity founded nine years ago, said: “We have many families, most of whom have young children and who struggle to support them.
Continue reading:
“They could even have five children and need support.
“Our messenger is always full of people looking for food parcels. I even had someone call me at 4am and realize they needed food.
“We didn’t stop. From March last year to January this year, we served a total of 105,000 meals.
“It was really hard work and unfortunately there are still people on the street. Yesterday I had a full book of people every ten minutes all day.
“I collect in supermarkets seven days a week. It was difficult but we make people come in and cry because you gave them so much food. ”
Natasha Copus, project manager at Southend Foodbank, fears the numbers could escalate if the blow from Covid-19 continues.
She said, “The vacation will end at some point and some stores won’t reopen so I know this will definitely put more pressure on it.
“It’s hard when families are fighting.
“I would imagine that with all of the groups advocating for the suffering, the actual situation is probably much bigger.
“Most of the reasons people come to us are due to low incomes, sometimes they are even employed and still cannot afford to eat.”
The Trussell Trust is now urging the government to end the need for food banks “once and for all”.
Emma Revie, General Manager, said, “Nobody should face the outrage over the need for emergency food. However, our network of food banks has issued a record number of food parcels as more and more people struggle for the essentials without enough money. ”
The charity is now calling on the public to write to election council candidates pledging them to work to end the need for food banks in their election. She also urges the government to come up with a plan.
Sabine Goodwin, coordinator of the Independent Food Aid Network, said: “It is the government’s responsibility to stop hunger in the first place so that everyone can afford to buy food.”
A government spokesman said: “We are committed to helping families with the lowest wages and targeting those most in need by increasing living wages, spending hundreds of billions on job security, adding billions to welfare and raising $ 269 million Pound Introduce Covid Local Support Grant to Help Children and Families Stay Filled. We know that well-paid work is the best way out of poverty, and our billion pound plan for jobs will help people across the country get back into work when restrictions are eased. ”