On April 26th, according to Agence France Presse, the Trussel Trust, a charity that operates the UK's largest "food bank", said that the number of British people seeking emergency food relief has surged by over 30% in the past year, reaching a record high of 3 million packages.
According to reports, the Trusell Trust manages a relief network of approximately 1200 food banking centers across the UK. According to the organization's data, as of the end of March 2023, the number of food packages they provided has more than doubled compared to the distribution five years ago, reaching 3 million, of which 1.1 million were allocated to children.
The organization stated that in 2021, the number of emergency packages sent to children exceeded 800000. From 2017 to 2018, this number was less than 500000.
In addition, the organization also stated that there are almost no signs of easing the cost of living crisis in the UK, with 760000 people seeking food aid for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 38%.
According to Reuters, data released by the Office for National Statistics on the 19th showed that the overall consumer price inflation rate in March fell to 10.1%, but the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages in the same month increased by 19.1% compared to the same period last year, marking the largest increase since August 1977.
At the time of the data release, the UK - a member of the Group of Seven and one of the wealthiest countries in the world - is struggling to cope with the biggest price increases in decades, with costs of fuel, heating, food, housing, and more soaring.
Emma Levi, CEO of the Trussel Trust Fund, stated that the establishment of the food bank was to provide short-term support to those in need in emergency situations, but has now become a common choice for low paying workers and welfare recipients.
The Trussel Trust is urging the Conservative government in the UK to raise welfare payments to more realistic levels to cover the basic living expenses of the population.
