Increase in number of food parcels needed is 'phenomenal', says manager of Worcester food bank
Across the UK there were almost 2.9 million (2,885,086) emergency food parcels handed out in the year to March 2025
A Worcester food bank says they've seen a real increase in the number of people it supports in the last five years.
Figures from the charity Trussell have revealed a 44% increase in the number of emergency food parcels being delivered across the West Midlands compared to five years ago.
New data released today (21 May) showed nearly 245,000 (243,987) emergency food parcels were provided to people across the West Midlands between April 2024 and March 2025, with 86,000 of these provided for children.
Across the UK there were almost 2.9 million (2,885,086) emergency food parcels handed out in the year to March 2025, a 51% rise on the number of parcels given out in the year to March 2020 (1,909,345).
'Phenomenal rise'
Worcester food bank manager Grahame Lucas says they've seen a rise in 114% over that same period and had to increase their size to cope with demand.
"That’s quite a phenomenal increase," he said.
"Currently we are providing about 8,000 parcels a year which equates to about 150-160 food parcels each week.
"We’ve managed to cope with that significant increase by cutting back on some of the extra things we used to do, so we had to close down our café and use that space for the extra space we need for serving so many people."
Numbers down compared to the previous data
The Trussell charity reported a decrease in the total number of emergency food parcels compared with the previous year in the West Midlands by 10%.
In total 269,759 were handed out between the same period from 1 April to 31 March 2023-24, and the UK's total is also down on last year's record high of 3,126,479 parcels.
For Worcester food bank, manager Grahame Lucas says numbers did drop since Christmas but that's now stopped.
He said: "Since Christmas we’ve certainly seen a decrease in numbers, and we put that down to the work government is doing through schools to assist families because we’ve seen a decrease in the number of families we are helping.
"That has now turned around though and in the last month or so we’ve certainly see something like another 10% increase and we’re anticipating further trouble on the horizon."
Data from the charity also showed since 2019/20 in the West Midlands, there has been a 42% rise in need from families with at least one child needing emergency food and a 26% rise in parcels to support children under the age of five over the same period.
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.
"As part of our Plan for Change 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."