NEW figures have shown an increase in emergency food parcels being handed out in Westmorland and Furness in recent months.

Food bank network The Trussell Trust reported 4,064 emergency food parcels were distributed from three food banks in the authority between April and September this year – 366 more than the same period in 2023, and an increase from 3,172 five years ago.

The charity confirmed 1,358 parcels were provided to children in Westmorland and Furness.

Emma Revie, chief executive of The Trussell Trust, 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."

Last month, we spoke to Ian Winters, the team lead at Windermere & District Foodbank about their struggle to maintain delivering food packages across Ambleside, Bowness, Kendal and further afield due to a surge in demand and reduction in the number of monetary donations.

Mr Winters told this publication there was a real possibility the foodbank could have closed had they not received an emergency three-month support grant from The Trussell Trust.

READ MORE: Windermere & District Foodbank donations reach new record low

He said the foodbank need to meet their £2,000 per month target in future months in order to maintain stock levels.

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone,” Mr Winters said.

“At the moment, we’re just keeping our heads above water. That’s the kind of situation we are dealing with.

“I would suggest we probably have around five months’ worth of income, which isn’t where we need to be. We need to be at six months’ worth of reserves to have a long-term strategy.

“It would be absolutely awful if we had to close down due to lack of funds.”

The Trussell Trust 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 4% fall on the same period the year before, it was 69% higher than five years prior.

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.

“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,” Ms Revie added.

“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 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."