Thousands of emergency food parcels handed out in Wigan

Food bank network Trussell said the number of people still facing hunger and hardship across the UK remains "heartbreaking".

The charity reported handing out 2,091 emergency food parcels from four food banks in Wigan between April and September

It was down from 2,607 parcels during the same period in 2023, and a fall from 2,837 five years ago.

While this is a welcome fall, it should be remembered that there are several other organisations distributing such aid locally which do not figure in the statistics.

The charity reported its community of food banks gave out just over 1.4 million emergency food parcels across the UK between April and September this year.

Although it was a four per cent fall on the same period the year before, it was 69 per cent higher than five years prior.

Of the parcels, 508,000 were provided for children facing hunger across the UK. This included 757 in Wigan.

Trussell said possible reasons for the slight dip in demand this year could include a "gradual slowdown" in rising food and energy costs, as well as the Local Housing Allowance being unfrozen in April.

Despite the fall, chief executive of Trussell Emma Revie said the number of people still facing hunger and hardship across the UK is "heartbreaking".

She added: "This cannot go on and we refuse to stand by while so many of us are pushed to the brink, left without enough money to live on.

"Our food banks are a lifeline, offering a warm welcome and space to be heard. They need everyone to play their part to move us towards ending the need for emergency food in the UK."

The charity said the majority of food parcels (63 per cent) were distributed to families with children.

It added more than 277,000 people visited a food bank in the Trussell community for the first time between April and September.

Ms Revie said: "The UK Government was elected with a manifesto pledge to end the need for emergency food and the time to act is now.

"There have been promising steps, but we need a clearer plan with more decisive action to invest in our social security system, if we are to end hunger once and for all."

A government spokesperson said: "The mass dependence on food banks is unacceptable – that’s why we’ve extended the Household Support Fund again to help struggling families with the cost of essentials.

"Alongside this, we are increasing the National Living Wage, uprating benefits and helping over 1 million households by introducing a fair repayment rate on Universal Credit deductions, while our Child Poverty Taskforce develops an ambitious strategy to give all children the best start in life."