People are starving

ON FRIDAY the Trussell Trust, which runs the largest network of foodbanks in Wales, released its annual figures showing that 85,656 three-day food supplies were given to hungry people across Wales in the last year. 
Despite knowing the extent of the problem for some time, even I have to take a step back, pause and think about that figure for a moment. 
Our 105 foodbank centres across the country fed more than the entire population of Wrexham in just 12 months! 
Along with many of our volunteers, I have sat at tables listening to harrowing stories of single parents unable to put enough food on the table for their children. 
I have heard from newly redundant men and women who have been told they will not receive their benefits because they have not looked hard enough for a job or have been 10 minutes late for an appointment with their local JCP office. 
I have heard of individuals desperate for work or unable to work enough hours because they are in insecure work or are only receiving the minimum wage and simply do not have enough money to pay their bills and buy sufficient food. 
Our figures, released the day after we heard about a £14m pay packet for the boss of BP and the growing inequality between rich and poor in this country inevitably causes frustration, anger and a burning sense of injustice. 
How is it that the UK, with one of the largest economies and with such a high standard of living, can allow such a situation to continue?
Could the rising use of foodbanks be an indicator that all is not well in society or are they a wonderful expression of how communities rally round and care for the vulnerable in their midst? Perhaps they are both?