Majority of food banks helping new people in cost of living crisis

Most food banks are now helping people who have never turned to them for support before as the cost of living crisis continues to take its toll, a new survey has found. Two thirds of Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) members polled said they had been helping people who are completely new to food banks over the last few months.The same proportion said they had seen an increase in numbers needing regular support compared to the same period last year. Sabine Goodwin from IFAN said food banks could collapse under the pressure if households do not see an increase in incomes. Have you been affected by this story? Please get in touch with zoe.tidman@independent.co.ukThe new figures came on the same day the Office for National Statistics said inflation had surpassed 11 per cent, reaching yet another new 40-year high.There were also warnings last week that food banks were running out of supplies as a record number of people turned to them for help.IFAN, which represents independent food bank providers in the UK, asked its members earlier this month what they were experiencing on the ground. Food banks have reported a surge in demand since the cost of living crisis Around 94 per cent said they had seen an increase in demand from last October – when the government removed an uplift to Universal Credit – to July this year. Of these, 92 per cent had seen demand rise even further between August and October this year. All of those that replied said this was down to the cost of living crisis, while most said inadequate wages and waiting times for Universal Credit also played a role. During this period, 92 per cent of food banks said they had been supporting people who have never needed help before. This was 67 out of the 73 providers who run more than 150 independent food banks all together polled. Meanwhile, 96 per cent said they had seen more people needing regular support between August and October this year compared to the same period the year before. Charlotte White, from Earlsfield Foodbank in southwest London, said there had not only been an increase in new claimants, but existing one were also needing services more often. ‘Some who used to visit every other month or so now need support weekly,’ she said. ‘Often benefits are in order but are simply not enough for people to get through the month,’ its manager added.Jane Wall, from Stannington Foodbank in Sheffield, said there had been a ‘big increase’ in new clients, while people who had not come for six months were also returning.Ms Goodwin, from IFAN, said: ‘Independent food bank teams are yet again warning the government that staggering increases in need for their services is putting them under unsustainable and unconscionable pressure.’As inflation figures climb steeply, their message is clear. People’s incomes whether through benefit payments or wages must be increased so that we don’t see the collapse of charitable food aid providers already at breaking point as well as food bank volunteers in the impossible position of having to turn people away.’The Department for Work and Pensions has been approached for comment.