This week we released our stats on the number of emergency food parcels that Wandsworth Foodbank provided within our local community between April and September 2023.
The worrying new figures reveal that we’ve provided 5,181 emergency food parcels to people who couldn’t afford the essentials in Wandsworth borough over the last six months – and 1,649 of these went to children.
Across the UK, food banks across the Trussell Trust network provided nearly 1.5 million emergency food parcels to people experiencing hunger during this time – with more than 540,000 of these going to children.
This is the most parcels food banks in our network have ever distributed in a single year and represents a 16% increase compared to last year, and more than double the amount distributed by food banks in the same period five years ago.
This isn’t right and we can’t allow this to go on.
Together, with food banks across the Trussell Trust network, we are calling for MPs across the UK to support a social security system that guarantees our essentials, by making sure that the basic rate of Universal Credit is at least enough to afford the essentials we all need to live.
If you would like to support us by writing to your local MP, please click here to find out more.
No one should need the support of our food bank because everyone in our local community should be able to live lives free from hardship and poverty.
That’s why your support is needed now more than ever.
As we navigate these challenging times and do our utmost to meet the increasing need for our services, we would be most grateful if you could:
- Please donate food or toiletries – you can find out more, including where to donate and what we most need at the moment, here.
- Please make a financial donation to our Warmer Winter appeal, so that we can provide emergency gas/electricity vouchers alongside emergency food to people who need it.
- If you’d prefer, you can find out how to make a financial donation in other ways here.
We recognise how difficult times are right now, which is why we really appreciate all and any support you are able to offer. Together, we can ensure help is here for everyone who needs it in Wandsworth, while we also work towards a more just future where no one needs our food bank to get by.
Thank you for all that you’re doing.
