Trussell trust urges David Cameron to launch in-depth inquiry into causes of 'scandalous' levels of food poverty
Britain's largest food bank network has called on the prime minister, David Cameron, to launch an official inquiry into the causes of food poverty after it emerged that food bank use has tripled year-on-year.
The Trussell trust charity said 355,000 people received food parcels from its food banks between April and September - more than the entire number given out during the whole of last year.
It says the increase is driven largely by hardship caused by benefit delays, welfare reform and low pay – and that the problem of hunger was getting worse. Chris Mould, executive chairman of the trust, said: "The level of food poverty in the UK is not acceptable. It's scandalous and it is causing deep distress to thousands of people. The time has come for an official and in-depth inquiry into the causes of food poverty and the consequent rise in the usage of foodbanks."
The call for an inquiry was backed by international aid charity Oxfam, which said that the rise in food bank use revealed worrying gaps in Britain's social safety net. Oxfam's chief executive, Mark Goldring, said: "This escalation in people using food banks shows we are now facing the shocking reality of destitution, hardship and hunger on a large scale in the UK."
Guardian
