MP calls for support as Fife foodbank use soars

Even before lockdown foodbank use was increasing.

The report published last Friday by the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) found that there has been at least a doubling in the need for emergency food parcels compared to figures from last year.

Kirkcaldy foodbank, which provided data for this Scotland-wide report, has reported a 31% increase in the number of visits to its foodbanks on last year, and a 62% increase in the number of meals provided in June compared to January and February.

A separate report published by the Trussell Trust on Monday found a similar increase in demand across its network, which includes the centres in Cowdenbeath and Benarty.

The report found an 89 percent increase in the number of emergency food parcels given out compared with the same month in 2019. This included a 107% increase in the number of parcels given to children, compared to the same period last year.

Both the Trussell Trust and IFAN have backed the calls made by Mr Hanvey and his SNP colleagues. These include urging the UK Government to protect people’s incomes by making permanent the £20 uplift to Universal Credit and to “rethink the impending cliff edge of the Job Retention Scheme coming to an end”.

Mr Hanvey said: “Even prior to the coronavirus crisis, far too many people in my constituency and across the UK were having to rely on foodbanks.

"The crisis has made that situation much worse and delivered a severe hit to folk’s livelihoods and households.

“The research from IFAN and the Trussell Trust is extremely worrying, not least the fact that demand for foodbanks is expected to increase by 61 percent as a direct result of the UK Government ending the furlough scheme and effectively cutting families loose in their time of need.

“Families have been hit on two fronts, by a global pandemic and a UK social security system that is simply not fit for purpose.

“I’m making four concrete suggestions that will help lift families out of hardship.

"As well as making the £20 uplift to Universal Credit a permanent feature, the UK Government must end the 5-week long wait for a first Universal Credit payment by removing the loan element of advance payments.

“We also need to see an end to the inhumane and ineffective sanctions regime and an extension to the furlough scheme like our neighbours in Germany, France and Norway.

“This unprecedented crisis requires an unprecedented response.

"Expecting foodbanks to fill in where folk have fallen through the social security safety net is simply not an option.”