91Èȱ¬

The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of more than 1,300 food bank centres providing emergency food and financial advice to people in crisis and campaigning for a future where everyone in the UK is able to afford the essentials, like food.

Sadly, we know that more and more people in our country are being left with no option but to use a food bank. Last year, food banks in the Trussell Trust network provided over 2.5 million emergency parcels to people in crisis, which is over a third more than the previous year. And almost 1 million of these were for children – that’s two food parcels for children every minute.

We understand that it takes more than food to end hunger. Hunger is a symptom of extreme poverty, caused by not having enough money for the essentials. That’s why we also bring together food banks in our network, the people they support and their communities to challenge the structural issues that lock people in poverty, and campaign to end the need for food banks in the UK.

We believe everyone has a right to live with dignity and should be able to go to the shops and buy their own food – free from having to make impossible decisions between whether to feed their family, or pay for heating, shampoo, or something as basic as toilet roll.

Together, we are thousands and thousands of people from communities across the UK who are determined to build a future where none of us need a food bank, because none of us will allow it. 

Having been an advocate of the Trussell Trust for the last few years, it’s an honour to be able to support the charity’s 91Èȱ¬ Lifeline Appeal.

Poverty in the UK is an issue close to my heart. For people living in poverty, the challenges they face each day are unprecedented. People shouldn’t be struggling to afford the absolute essentials in the UK – like food, clothing and heating – but more and more are being left with no option but to use a food bank. If ever we needed to reflect on what is happening around us, it’s now.

The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks to provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network do incredible work to help people most in need of support but no charity can replace the dignity of having enough money to buy your own food. The Trussell Trust deserves the support of every one of us, to help fight for a future where everyone can afford the essentials.

Nurse, Donna, saw her life turned upside down when she was hospitalised in 2015 after suffering from two mini-strokes. Forced to stop working and not eligible for sick pay, the mother-of-three soon began to struggle. She had always been good at managing her finances but, due to not being able to work, her savings were getting very low. It was then that she went to her local food bank and asked for help. 

Although she was nervous about going to the food bank at first, she is thankful that they were able to support her through a very difficult time. As well as providing Donna with food for herself and her children, the food bank was also able to give her information about benefit support she was entitled to claim in order to get further help. 

Since then, her circumstances have improved and she no longer needs a food bank. She now enjoys volunteering at her local food bank as a way to give back to her community. 

Hugh was a successful businessman, managing his own restaurant until 2013 when his business collapsed overnight. He lost everything, including his home, and he ended up with significant debts. Within the space of two weeks, he went from having his own business to reaching out to his local food bank in Coventry asking for help. 

The food bank not only provided him and his family with emergency food but they gave him the support he needed to regain his confidence by offering him the role of a volunteer. He enjoyed volunteering at the food bank because he began to understand people’s needs in his community and he saw first-hand the shocking levels of poverty as people struggled to get by.

Since then, he has become a Project Manager at one of the largest food banks in the UK and it’s the most rewarding job he feels he’s ever done.