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Hunger is stalking Britain at unprecedented levels and at least one million people now depend on foodbanks to survive, according to a parliamentary report released today.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the problem had shocked him more than when he visited refugee camps in Africa because he never expected to see such hunger in Britain.
At the same time more than 10 million people are going into debt to provide for themselves over Christmas and New Year.
But the government, which this year blocked millions of pounds in European funding for foodbanks in Britain, responded by saying its “long-term economic plan is working.”
An all-party parliamentary inquiry into hunger has found that, since the establishment of foodbanks by the Trussell Trust in 2004, the number of emergency food supply groups have grown to at least 1,500, including 800 foodbanks — around half of them operated by the Trust.
The report cited evidence from the Trust that its 420 foodbanks provided help to 913,138 people in 2013-14, and the figure does not include those who use 380 independent foodbanks.
In 2011-12 only 128,697 people depended on foodbanks.
The parliamentary report said it was “clear that demand for emergency food assistance is increasing, and sometimes increasing dramatically.
“Although practically every respondent to this inquiry has asserted that the foodbank movement should not form a new version of a residual or ‘Poor Law’ kind of welfare state, it became clear from our evidence that foodbanks are here to stay — for more than the immediate future.”
The report said inflation in housing, utilities and food costs had soared from 31 per cent to 40 per cent and that the poor suffered most. If they borrowed money to pay bills they faced “rip-off” deals and massive interest rates on emergency loans. It said families are going without food to pay other bills.
In another report, charity the Money Advice Trust said that one in five Britons — more than 10 million people — are taking on extra debt in order to pay for Christmas dinner.
