More than 26,000 emergency food parcels were given to Bristol households struggling to feed themselves last year – with thousands going to children.
That’s according to figures from the Trussell Trust, which gave out more than two million food parcels via its food bank network across the UK in the year to March. The charity says parents are skipping meals so their kids can eat and switching off appliances so they can afford internet access to do homework, but warns things are set to get worse.
Its network of food banks across Bristol gave out 26,691 emergency food parcels in 2021-22, of which 10,896 were provided for children. That was down from a total of 34,668 the previous year during the height of the pandemic but was still well above the 16,735 recorded in 2019-20 and 11,387 five years earlier.
