Record number of food bank handouts in London last year - up 171% in five years

A record number of emergency food parcels were handed out in London in the past year, statistics from the Trussell Trust show.

More than 454,000 were distributed by food banks in the trust’s London network between April last year and March this year — more in the space of 12 months than ever before. It is a 171 per cent increase compared with five years ago.