New figures released today, Wednesday 26 April, by Rutland Foodbank have revealed that 776 emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship last year – with 413 of these going to households which included children.  

The Rutland Foodbank has seen a 10% increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed compared to last year. There was a 17% increase in the numbers fed compared with last year (2021-22).

2,123 children and adults were fed. The number of children fed (954) was up by 19% and adults (1,169) up by 16% compared with the previous year. This is the greatest number of people the Foodbank has ever provided food for. 

Ingredients for 44,583 meals were distributed.

The levels of need were particularly acute in winter. January was the busiest ever month for the Foodbank since it opened, with 85 emergency food parcels prepared by volunteers. 

Dean's Street, Oakham. Image credit: Nub News.

Ali Wainwright, Chair of Trustees at Rutland Foodbank said: "2022-23 was not the busiest year for parcels provided but it was the busiest in terms of the number of people fed. What is of concern is the number of referrals this year that were for new households, indicative of the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis." 

"Fortunately, unlike many other foodbanks, due to the amazing support from our all our donors our volunteers are still able to pick and pack 7-day food and toiletry packs." 

"Using our van means we are able to send out emergency parcels to anyone living in Rutland who needs our help." 

"Without the generosity of so many people, charities and businesses in Rutland we would struggle to maintain our help. So I'd like to thank everyone who donates and supports us and a special thank you to our amazing resilient and dedicated volunteers."

"We continue to work very closely with our referrers to ensure that clients are signposted to local agencies and the council to ensure they are getting all the benefits, grants and allowances they are entitled to and to support their wellbeing." 

"We are supporting the 'Guarantee our Essentials' campaign, which was launched recently by the Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to ensure that we reach a situation where households have sufficient income to afford the basics and we end the need for foodbanks." 

"We help many and varied households across the Rutland and will continue to do so until we reach the stage where no-one needs a foodbank." 

Rutland Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust's network, which reports record levels of need in the last 12 months with almost 3 million (2,986,203) emergency food parcels provided to people facing hardship between April 2022 and March 2023. More than a million of these parcels were provided for children. 

Oakham Market, Wednesday and Saturday, Oakham Market Place. Image credit: Nub News.

Speaking about the rising need for emergency food, Emma Revie, Chief Executive at the Trussell Trust, said: "These new statistics are extremely concerning and show that an increasing number of people are being left with no option but to turn to charitable, volunteer-run organisations to get by and this is not right. The continued increase in parcel numbers over the last five years indicates that it is ongoing low levels of income and a social security system that isn't fit for purpose that are forcing more people to need food banks, rather than just the recent cost of living crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic." 

"Foodbanks are not a lasting solution to hunger and poverty, and more than three quarters of the UK population agree with us that they should not need to exist."  

"The volunteers at Rutland Foodbank are working tirelessly to ensure help continues to be available, but the current situation is not one they can solve alone."  

"For too long, some people have been going without because social security payments do not reflect life's essential costs and people are being pushed deeper into hardship as a result. If we are to stop this continued growth and end the need for food banks then the UK government must ensure that the standard allowance of Universal Credit is always enough to cover essential costs." 

To help ensure that everyone has the income they need to afford the essentials, the Trussell Trust has joined with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in urging the UK government to embed in law an 'Essentials Guarantee' that would make sure Universal Credit payments always, at a minimum, provide enough to the cover cost of essentials such as food, utilities and vital household goods. 

You can read more here.