About 20% more people using food banks during 2014

There has been an almost 20 per cent increase in the use of foodbanks during 2014. It is hard to determine the exact number of people that have turned to them, but when only looking at the Trussell Trust usage, this may be about 550,000 unique households. But there may be a couple million more users of these centres that as of today go uncounted.

There are many other families turning to independent foodbanks across the UK, such as those at small charity organisations. In fact, the Trussell Trust only operates about one third of the total number of food banks and soup kitchens in the UK. That is why the total usage is really much higher.

The jobless rate is down across the nation, and the number of redundancies continues to decrease. However the growth of food bank usage has continued to increase at a very high rate. Many experts say that the jobs being created are low-paid, and these workers are still living in poverty even though they have a pay cheque. Doctors are even saying that this poverty is starting to create a health crisis.

A smaller number of experts say that the creation of these food banks from the Trussell Trust and other organisations is in effect creating demand. That if these centres did not exist, that people would not be using them but would instead budget more properly for their meals.

More statistics on 2014 usage

There may be as many as 1,500 emergency food providers across the UK, and this does not count companies that offer Meals on Wheels. Today, the Trussell Trust has only about 445 of those food banks across the UK. But even that number is an 800% increase since 2009! We have information on many of those distribution centres, and find a local food bank.

During 2013, there were about 20,000 unique users of the Trussell Trust food banks that are part of that not-for profit. Now today there are about 550,000 users. So no matter how some one were to look at those statistics, it can’t be argued that the demand for free food is very high.

About 1 in 5 households that are turning to food banks are because they are low income. This means that their income does not allow them to pay all of the bills they have each month. So they use a voucher to get a free parcel of food for a few days, which helps alleviate the pressure on their budgets. This percentage has increased over the years.

It is thought that many of these people are in jobs that do not pay a livable wage. Or they may be faced with a financial hardship for a certain month that prevents them from being the items they need. This is when a Trussell Trust or independent food bank can be helpful.

The data from 2014 shows that about 40% of vouchers are going to families that are having benefit problems, which is down slightly from 2013. Maybe there was a delay in payment. Or the person had their benefits stopped because of a sanction or another reason. When this occurs the family is often in dire straits, so they turn to a food bank that is local to them.

The Universal Credit being rolled out may continue to increase those number of people seeking assistance as well. It will combined their payments so many may struggle to buy the groceries they need for their families.

So no matter how someone looks at the data, it is hard to argue that the number of people seeking help from food banks is increasing. Poverty is still a challenged faced by many, and it is growing.