THE number of emergency food supplies handed out by a foodbank charity in Newport increased by more than a quarter last year, with other areas of Gwent also seeing significant increases.
Figures by the Trussell Trust show 3,931 emergency three-day packages were provided in Newport between April 2018 and March this year – an increase of 26 per cent on the previous 12 months. Of these, 2,367 were given to adults and 1,464 were provided to children.
Across Wales as a whole, 113,373 packages were handed out over the year, along with 1.58 million across the UK as a whole.
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The next biggest increase in Gwent was seen in Blaenau Gwent, where 5,019 packages were provided – an increase of 17 per cent. Adults accounted for 3,363 of these, while the remaining 1,656 were given to children.
In Caerphilly county borough, 6,466 packaged were handed out, up 15 per cent on the previous year, including 4,142 to adults and 2,324 to children.
The Trussell Trust also handed out 2,852 packages in Monmouthshire over the year, including 1,874 to adults and 978 to children. This represented an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year.
And in Torfaen 7,024 packages were provided, an increase of 11 per cent. Of these, 4,445 were given to adults and 2,579 to children.
The charity, which runs a network of foodbanks across the UK, has has said the period between April 2018 and March 2019 is the busiest since it was founded in 1997.
Other figures released by the charity show 49 per cent of referrals to its food banks are the result of delays in benefits - including Universal Credit - being paid.
Chief executive Emma Revie said ending the five-week wait for a claimant's first Universal Credit payment should be the UK Government's top priority.
“What we are seeing year-upon-year is more and more people struggling to eat because they simply cannot afford food," she said.
"This is not right.
“Enough is enough. We know this situation can be fixed – that’s why we’re campaigning to create a future where no one needs a food bank."
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Newport East MP Jessica Morden raised the issue in Parliament this week, calling the figures "shocking".
"It should be a source of national embarrassment that so many families are turning to food banks to feed their families, including here in Gwent," she said.
"It can’t be right that 9,000 children across the region have had to rely on emergency food supplies over the last year. It’s a shameful reality which the government cannot sweep under the carpet.”
A number of Gwent's other MPs have also reacted with dismay to the figures.
Torfaen's Nick Thomas-Symonds called the statistics "a shameful indictment of Tory government austerity" and "yet another further warning sign that the government must halt the rollout of Universal Credit".
And Islwyn's Chris Evans said: “I am deeply disturbed but not surprised by the rise of the use of food banks.
“The UK is the sixth largest economy in the world - there is simply no good reason why we should be in the position where there is such a heavy reliance on foodbanks.
“These statistics paint a bleak picture of the cruel Conservative cuts. It is simply unconscionable that so many people cannot afford to keep their family fed for the month and are forced instead to rely on the kindness of strangers”
“I worry that we are heading back to the days of the Victorian poor house."
Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith called the figures "very alarming" and also called for an end to Universal Credit.
“While I am always heartened to know that people in Blaenau Gwent are so generous with their donations, it is simply unacceptable that people are relying on the kindness of the community, and the hard work of dedicated volunteers, to eat and to feed their children," he said.
Newport AM John Griffiths has condemned the “shocking” level of reliance on foodbanks in the area.
The Assembly Member for Newport East and Chair of the Poverty Cross Party Group in the National Assembly, following research carried out by the Trussell Trust, said: “The Trussell Trust’s research highlighting the numbers of people relaying on foodbanks is shocking
“Nine years of this Tory UK Government’s austerity strategy and cruel measures like Universal Credit and its current five week wait is adversely impacting on the most vulnerable in society.
“Between April 2018 and March 2019, food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network in Wales provided 113,373 emergency supplies to people in crisis. 40,793 of these supplies went to children. This cannot continue.
“In Newport, the Trussell Trust and other organisations like Eden Gate, Newport Night Shelter and the Wallich work tirelessly to help support those in greatest need but no charitable organisation can bring about the security and dignity of financial stability.
“Bringing to an end the five week wait for a first Universal Credit payment should be the UK Government’s first priority.”
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