Wrexham foodbank have released new figures of the number of food parcels provided to local people in the last year.

A total of 6897 emergency food parcels were provided to people in Wrexham who couldn’t afford the essentials between April 2021 and March 2022 - 2521 of these went to children.

This number of parcels is a 18% increase on 2019-20.

The food bank believes the increase in people needing support is due to people’s finances being hit by the increasing cost of living and the impact of £20 a week being cut from Universal Credit payments during the last year; as well as insecure or low-paid work.

The food bank is part of the Trussell Trust network, which has experienced its busiest winter outside of the height of the pandemic in 2020.

READ MORE: 'It's only going to get worse for people' warns foodbank manager

The need for food banks in the Trussell Trust network has accelerated throughout the past six months, and food bank managers are warning of a growing crisis following the cut to Universal Credit in October 2021, as the cost of living continues to soar

Wrexham Foodbank is clear that its team will always do all they can to help people in the community – but they cannot, and should not, be needing to distribute emergency food parcels on this scale. Sally Ellinson, Wrexham Foodbank manager explains:

“There’ll always be a role for strong community groups looking out for their neighbours, and we're so grateful for the generous support of our volunteers and to local people who have donated to the food bank.

READ MORE: Reds fans urged to 'Bring a tin' to Southend game for Wrexham foodbank

“The support we see across the community for people on the lowest incomes is incredible. But it shouldn’t be needed. We should all be free from hunger. No one should be pushed deeper into poverty without enough money for the things we all need. It’s not right that anyone in Wrexham needs our food bank in the first place - everyone should be able to afford the essentials.

“At the moment the situation is only set to get worse, as this is just the start of the cost of living crisis. But we know what’s pushing people to need food banks like ours, so we know what needs to be done. People cannot afford to wait any longer for support – UK, national and local governments at all levels must use their powers and take urgent action now to strengthen our social security system so it keeps up with the true cost of living.”