Number of children supported by Hackney Foodbank doubles

Hackney Foodbank is echoing calls for action as a new report by Trussell lays bare the alarming state of poverty in the UK.

In Hackney, the number of children supported by Hackney Foodbank has more than doubled in the past two years – a crisis staff say is largely down to the high costs of local rents and Universal Credit failing to keep up with rising living costs.

Overall, the charity is supporting an average of 670 people per week, with 75% of visitors only coming between one and three times a year.  In the past 12 months demand has increased by 24%.

A recent survey conducted by Hackney Foodbank found that 68% of visitors have a long-lasting physical or mental health condition, with 82% saying it impacts their ability to carry out day to day activities. 52% of respondents skipped meals more than once a week because there wasn’t enough money for food.

Pat Fitzsimons, CEO of Hackney Foodbank, said: “This summer we supported more than 1,000 people in one week for the first time in our charity’s history. We’re bracing ourselves for a tough winter – if demand continues to rise at the current rate, we anticipate helping up to 1,500 people per week in peak times this winter.

“Families with children are among those hardest hit; we regularly meet parents who go hungry so their children can eat.  We’re working hard to make sure everyone has access to good, nutritious food. All of our food parcels now contain fresh fruit and vegetables from the Felix Project or Growing Communities, our lunch support scheme provides vouchers for parents of school-aged children,  so they don’t go hungry during the holidays, and we promote the Healthy Start programme, which helps parents of pre-school children access healthy food.

“We urge the government to take action to ensure Universal Credit keeps pace with rising costs, so it really does guarantee the essentials.”

In 2022, Hackney provided emergency food for 5,522 children. In the first three quarters of 2024, they had already supported 8,726 children.

According to the research by Trussell one in five children in the UK are growing up facing hunger and hardship. 46% more children in the UK now face hunger and hardship than they did two decades ago.

There has been a notable increase in the number of disabled families facing hunger and hardship in the past decade, while the number in non-disabled families has stayed constant. Five million people in the UK who live in disabled families now face hunger and hardship, an increase of 1.2 million people since 2012/13.

Often, those living in a household where there is serious illness or disability face multiple barriers to employment, caring responsibilities and additional costs related to their condition.

Pat added: “Around 68% of the visitors who responded to our survey have a long-lasting physical or mental health condition and for most it impacts their ability to work. The very people our social security system should be supporting are being let down because the payments fall woefully short of what’s needed to get by.”

To support Hackney Foodbank visit: www.hackney.foodbank.org.uk/donate#donatemoney