www.itn.co.uk/UK/80354/demand-for-food-banks-triples
Demand for food banks triples
Three times as many people received emergency supplies from Trussell Trust foodbanks in the three months from April this year compared with the same period last year.
The charity claims the Government's welfare changes has contributed to the surge in demand.
Some 152,154 people received three days' worth of emergency food between April 1 and June 30, up from 49,596 last year.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23263011
Food bank charity attributes growth in usage to welfare reforms
More people are turning to food banks since welfare reforms were introduced in April, a charity has said.
The Trussell Trust, which runs food banks, reported a 21% rise in the number of people who said they did not have enough money for food because of problems with benefits.
"A clear link" exists between the reforms and the increasing popularity of food banks, the Trust's boss said.
Conservative minister Lord Freud has said the two factors are unrelated.
The government says changes to benefits are necessary because of the rising cost of the welfare system and the need to cut the budget deficit.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) added: "Welfare reforms will improve the lives of some of the poorest families in our communities."
'Struggling'
But the trust's chief executive Chris Mould said: "The reality is that there is a clear link between benefit delays or changes and people turning to food banks, and the situation has got worse in the last three months."
He also argued that the changes had also caused confusion among welfare agencies that was affecting those in need.
"We've had people in crisis calling us saying that their local authority told them to ring the food bank for help with their gas and electric.
"Many of these issues must be addressed urgently, before universal credit is rolled out in October.
"This is not about politics; it's about recognising that we're living in a difficult economic climate where more people in poverty are struggling to cope and that we need to work together to find solutions so that the poorest and most vulnerable don't go hungry."
