Essex foodbank spending more on food than ever before
Southend foodbank spend £12,000 a month on supplies, five years ago they relied "solely" on donations
An Essex foodbank say they are spending more on food each month than they ever have because people "just can't afford to donate".
Southend foodbank have provided 18,854 emergency food parcels to people facing hunger in the past 12 months.
Alarmingly, more than a third were for children.
This comes as new annual figures from anti-poverty charity Trussell show that 2,885,086 food parcels were given out across the UK.
Trussell says this should be a 'wake-up call’ for the UK government to strengthen the social security system and re-think cuts to welfare that risk forcing more people to food banks.
Cass Francis founded Southend foodbank in 2013.
She tells Greatest Hits Radio "it's shocking but it's not unexpected" how many people have to access a foodbank.
She says she's "particularly concerned" by the number of children living in poverty:
"It's a ticking time bomb for children to be brought up in a way that they have only ever known lack, they have only ever known austerity.
"There are a lot of schools in Southend who see poverty on their doorstep and refer children to us.
"I don't think we're doing our children any good by bringing them up in poverty."
Nearly 19,000 emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship between April 2024 and March 2025, according to Southend Foodbank's new figures.
Despite an 8% dip compared to last year, the area the foodbank covers across Southend City and Rochford has seen persistently high levels of need over the past five years: an overall increase of 188% on the figures from 5 years ago.
Cass Francis adds: “5 years ago, the food parcels we gave out were almost entirely made up of donations from the public, but as the need for emergency food has increased we had to start buying provisions each month just to make sure we can keep up with the need we see in our community.”
She says to government: "please remember the people who voted you in are the people that are suffering the most at the moment.
"Pensioners are suffering with winter fuel payment cuts and there is an increasing fear regarding the upcoming disability cuts.
"All of these things are making it harder.
"Most of us are only two pay cheques away from being homeless and needing a handout from someone."
Southend Foodbank is part of the Trussell community of food banks, which has reported persistently high levels of need in the last 12 months.
Emma Revie, chief executive of Trussell, said: “Far too many children, families, disabled people, working people, and elderly people from across Southend have needed to access food banks for emergency food in the past year.
"This should be a wake-up call to government and a stark reminder of their responsibilities to the people of Southend.
“A whole generation has now grown up in Southend and Rochford where sustained high levels of food bank need feels like the norm.
"The community has teachers, doctors, and healthcare professionals now routinely referring people to food banks as part of their day to day jobs, showing how emergency food has sadly become a fixture
A Government spokesperson said: "This Government is determined to change people's lives for the better, helping them out of poverty and tackling the unacceptable rise in food bank dependence in recent years.
"We are reforming the broken welfare system we inherited so we can get people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most.
"We are extending the Household Support Fund, launching 750 breakfast clubs across the country and making changes to universal credit to give a £420 boost to over one million households."