In the face of rising consumer prices and growing poverty, the food banks in Great Britain are experiencing the greatest demand in their history. “This is the busiest time independent food banks have ever experienced in Britain and many are struggling with the growing demand,” said Sabine Goodwin, head of the umbrella organization Independent Food Aid Network, the German Press Agency.
“It is becoming clearer than ever that charitable assistance as a response to escalating poverty is neither sustainable nor acceptable,” said Goodwin. Rather, people need support payments and wages with which they can pay for food for themselves and their families.
Inflation in Great Britain was recently around eleven percent, limited to food even higher. The UK economy is in recession and has barely recovered from the pandemic low compared to other countries. Brexit has drastically reduced trade with the largest market on the doorstep – the European Union.
The government had promised “levelling up”.
The conservative British government actually took office at the beginning of the legislature with the promise of “leveling up” – ie adjusting living conditions in all parts of the country upwards. But little has happened since then: in the north of England in particular, many regions have been left behind and child poverty is high. The situation has worsened as a result of the Ukraine war.
According to the Trussell Trust, which owns 1,300 food banks across the UK, more than 1.3 million emergency food parcels have already been distributed from April to September this year – a third more than in the same period last year and a half times the previous figure the pandemic. In addition, 320,000 people turned to the Tafel for the first time in the first six months. That is 40 percent more than in the same period in 2021.
Storing and refrigerating donated food is a problem for some Tafel, as it limits their capacity to donate. King Charles III has made a major donation with one of his foundations, which is intended to fund at least 800 refrigerators and freezers for food banks and similar facilities. Organizations had previously reported that in recent years food donations around Christmas have sometimes had to be turned down because they could not have been refrigerated.
International Food Aid Network Trussell Trust
