Hundreds of food parcels given out every day by Sussex foodbanks
The total has risen by almost half in the space of a year
Hundreds of emergency food parcels were handed out to children in Sussex every week during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s according to a report by the Trussell Trust showing a record 2.5 million parcels were distributed by its network of food banks across the UK in 2020-21.
The charity is urgently calling on UK governments to end the need for food banks “once and for all” amid soaring demand for help from families in crisis.
Across Sussex, the charity handed out 98,405 emergency food parcels between April 2020 and March 2021 - 52,612 in East Sussex, 37,737 in West Sussex and 8,056 in Brighton and Hove.
That's an increase of more than 50% on the 64,285 food parcels given out across the county in the twelve months prior.
Of those handed out in 2020/21, 20,762 went to children – equivalent to 399 every week, or 57 a day.
You can find a full breakdown of the statistics for your local area below.
Nationally, the Trussell Trust gave out more than 2.5 million food parcels in the 12 months to March - up 33% on figures from the year before - with just a million of those (980,000) going to children.
The overall figure, which includes parcels with three or seven days’ worth of supplies, was a more than three-fold increase on the total number recorded the previous year.
But the charity warned its data does not come close to revealing the full scale of demand across the country, with unprecedented numbers of people being helped by other organisations that sprang up during the pandemic.
Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said:
“No one should face the indignity of needing emergency food.
“Yet our network of food banks has given out record numbers of food parcels as more and more people struggle without enough money for the essentials.
“This is not right but we know we can build a better future.”
The charity is urging the public to write to their local candidates standing for election on May 6th, asking them to commit to working to end the need for food banks if elected.
It is also calling on all levels of UK government to develop a plan to end the need for their use.
Sabine Goodwin, coordinator of the Independent Food Aid Network, said that independent food banks across the UK were also seeing “relentless” need for help.
“Now more than ever, our social security system needs to be reset, local authority support schemes involving crisis grants prioritised and adequate wages and secure work ensured,” she added.
“It's the Government's responsibility to stop hunger from happening in the first place so that everyone is able to afford to buy food and other essentials."
A government spokesman said:
“We are committed to supporting the lowest-paid families and have targeted support to those most in need by raising the living wage, spending hundreds of billions to safeguard jobs, boosting welfare support by billions, and introducing the £269m Covid Local Support Grant to help children and families stay well-fed.
“We know that getting into well-paid work is the best route out of poverty, and our multi-billion pound Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country re-join the workforce as restrictions are eased.”
Here's a full breakdown of the statistics for local council areas across Sussex in 2020/21:
(note: no figures have been supplied for Crawley or Lewes)
EAST SUSSEX: 52,612 total food parcels handed out (31,850 to adults, 20,762 to children)
Eastbourne: 15,083 (9,628 to adults, 5,455 to children)
Hastings: 12,685 (7,987 to adults, 4,698 to children)
Rother: 12,659 (7,725 to adults, 4,934 to children)
Wealden: 12,185 (6,510 to adults, 5,675 to children)
BRIGHTON AND HOVE: 8,056 (4,972 to adults, 3,084 to children)
WEST SUSSEX: 37,737 (21,979 to adults, 15,758 to children)
Adur: 6,974 (4,520 to adults, 2,454 to children)
Arun: 6,625 (4,222 to adults, 2,403 to children)
Chichester: 5,865 (3,386 to adults, 2,479 to children)
Horsham: 8,506 (4,690 to adults, 3,816 to children)
Mid Sussex: 7,733 (3,874 to adults, 3,859 to children)
Worthing: 2,034 (1,287 to adults, 747 to children)