What will define this tory/lib dem govt??

[David Johnson]

Good answer from a Tory perspective.

Bad answer from a Tory perspective.

There has been a staggering increase in the number of referrals to food banks. The Tressell Trust, one of the biggest organisers of food banks in the UK said there was a 50% increase in the number of users of their food banks between 2014 -15.

[Dick Moby]

Shock horror David Johnson dissing the Tory party. Who would believe it ?

[David Johnson]

Any comment on the information provided by the Tressell Trust?

[tommy dickfingers]

Just stating a fact that they have been around for a while even during the boom years not just the last 5 years,but it seems that food prices have come down quite a bit especially vegetables it think.

[Arginald Valleywater]

DJ. Trussel are a franchise with plans for growth.....their endgame should be to close not expand but hey ho being a do gooder can rake in lots of cash. Our local Food Bank told them to fuck off as they see themselves as a business with an image, not helping the needy.

[David Johnson]

THere's been a big increase across the board. The Tressell Trust is just one provider of food banks. There are many others from all sorts of backgrounds.

[David Johnson]

Fair comment. Food banks did exist under Labour and the gap between rich and poor did widen under Labour as it has under Cameron.

Having said that although many food prices have gone down, so has the pay of many working people and the unemployed in real terms.

Apparently one of the key factors in the huge increase in use of food banks under Cameron is the number of people who have been sanctioned and lost all their benefits.

[Essex Lad]

David Johnson wrote:

> THere's been a big increase across the board. The Tressell
> Trust is just one provider of food banks. There are many
> others from all sorts of backgrounds.


It's The Trussell Trust not Tressell and they have just admitted that they lied about the number of people who used their food banks.
----

Claims by the country's biggest food bank network that it served a million hungry people in a year were exposed as false yesterday.

After the Labour Party and Trades Union Congress seized on the figure, with shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves describing it as 'shocking', the Trussell Trust admitted in a climbdown that 'these are not all unique users'.

It emerged last night that its true number of users is likely to be no more than half a million ? and possibly lower still.

Read more:

[David Johnson]

I know it's the Trussell Trust. No edit function here.

EIther way, the Trussell Trust represents just part of the overall number of food banks. According to Full Fact in the article referenced by the Daily Mail

"The figures quoted here only cover the 445 food banks in the UK run by the Trussell Trust. But it?s not the only organisation running food banks in the UK: there are many independent local initiatives doing similar work. All told, there may be around 800 food banks across the UK. And there are other providers of emergency food assistance too, for example soup kitchens or ?Meals on Wheels?. In total, there are estimated to be about 1,500 emergency food assistance providers in Britain. The 450 Trussell Trust food banks, with their 1.1 million uses, account for almost a third of that provision.

It?s not possible to extrapolate from the Trussell Trust?s figures to the number of people using all food banks in the UK. There?s no information on whether other food banks have similar patterns of use, similar referral systems, or operate on a similar scale to the Trussell Trust."

[Arginald Valleywater]

Funnily enough our local Food Bank is in danger as those good old generous Salvation Army bods are selling off their two local buildings and getting an all new swanky Citadel constructed without offering any space to said Food Bank. Gotta love Christians....
And also seen the FBs user stats for past 33 months. Highest users come from bedsits and private properties rather than social housing....Poor budgeting, not welfare reforms, sanctions or unemployment was the biggest issue. Not surprised since the cost of drink and ciggs has rocketed.