Use of food resources in the Tamar Valley, including the Callington foodbank, and Cornwall is increasing.

In November last year, the Tamar Valley Times, Tavistock Times Gazette and the Okehampton Times reported that, when the Callington foodbank marked its tenth anniversary that month, the foodbank had issued 3,455 vouchers, helped 5,594 adults and 3,561 children and had collected 95-and-a-quarter tons of food and other household items in those ten years, with the coronavirus pandemic contributing to a staggering 41% increase in use of the town’s foodbank. It subsequently ran a large collection to help struggling families before Christmas last year, where 90% of donations came from members of the public. During the winter period, the Trussell Trust distributed over 7,000 emergency food parcels a day to people in crisis.

The Callington foodbank is affiliated with the Trussell Trust and primarily helps people on low income and low credit. The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of over 1,300 foodbanks and has seen year-on-year increases in the numbers of emergency food parcels distributed to people living in crisis. Typically, when signing up for Universal Credit there is a five-week wait for the first payment, so people may have to rely on the foodbank in the interim.

Figures published by the Trussell Trust show that from April 2014 to March 2015, foodbanks in their network throughout the county (Cornwall) distributed a total of 16,313 emergency food parcels to those in need. From April 2019 to March 2020, a total of 18,809 were distributed throughout the county, yet from April 2021 to March 2022, this figure had jumped to a total of 23,612 - nearly 5,000 more in the space of three years. From April 2021 to March 2022, the total number of distribution centres in the county has fallen by six, dropping from 27 to 21. The coronavirus pandemic is thought to be the biggest contributing factor to this significant increase of foodbank use in the last two to three years.

Cornwall Councillor for Calstock Dorothy Kirk said: ‘I’m very aware of the situation with food resources as I have helped those involved and also given them £500 from my community chest budget. It is now working people who are reliant on food resources for help too; along with the increased cost of living, we are in a serious crisis. Last year was the tenth anniversary of the Callington foodbank’s opening and ten years later we are in an even worse position. The community members working on these projects do so much to help those in need. The situation is getting worse and I’m filled with utter sorrow about it.’

In the same 2014-2015 period outlined above, a total of 100,188 food parcels were distributed in the South West region. From 2021-2022, this total increased had increased by 57% to 174,805, meaning that in this period, emergency parcels distributed in Cornwall comprised 13.6% of the region.

In England, from the same 2014-2015 period, the total number of food parcels distributed was 866,481, yet by the 2021-2022 period this figure has increased by over 100% to 1,783,29, with the total number of distribution centres in the country now at the highest recorded figure of 1,300.

In the United Kingdom, for the 2014-2015 period, the total number of parcels distributed throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by Trussell Trust foodbanks was 1,091,282. In the 2021-2022 period, this figure had increased by just under 100% to 2,173,15 (with there being a total of 1,630 distribution centres across all four countries). Therefore, in this latter period, the number of foodbank parcels distributed in this network in Cornwall comprised 1.32% of the total figure in England and 1.1% of the total figure for the United Kingdom.

These figures are for foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network alone, and do not include other foodbanks in the United Kingdom which are not connected to or affiliated with the charity, such as those that are independently run.

Cornwall Councillor for Callington and St Dominick Andrew Long said: ‘This is an absolute scandal as the fifth richest or strongest economy in the world we are having to have foodbanks to feed the WORKING poor. It’s now people working full time who need them as they still aren’t earning enough money. It’s an insult that the new business minister Rees-Mogg implied that it was a sign of how wonderful and giving the country is to have foodbanks, whereas I’m saying it’s an actual shame that we should have them. The fact we are not looking after people properly and people need to rely on resources of help in the modern economy - it’s so sad. It is so humiliating that at the same time we are having to feed people from foodbanks just for basics that the government refuse to put a windfall tax on the energy production. It’s such a shocking indictment on society as it stands now.’

Over 2.1 million food parcels were distributed to people in crisis via Trussell Trust foodbanks between 2021 and 2022 - an increase of 14% compared to the same period from 2019 to 2020. Compared to this time five years ago, the need for foodbanks in the charity’s network has increased by 81%.