Food bank in Lancashire says more needs to be done to support people in poverty
A study says ending hunger could save the UK £75 billion a year
Last updated 30th Apr 2025
A food bank in Lancashire says the welfare system is failing to protect those in need.
It's after the charity, Trussell, published a new study suggesting the UK economy could benefit by over £75 billion a year if an end was put to hunger and hardship.
In response to the stats, the local organiser at Blackburn Foodbank, Daisy Dumsday, said: "I assumed there would be some sort of benefit for the economy, but that number really surprised me when I was reading through the report."
Blackburn Foodbank's seen a decrease in users over the past year, despite recent cuts to benefits for vulnerable groups.
Ms Dumsday partly attributes this to the additional services they offer: "As well as providing people with food support, we also have a money advice centre in house.
"It supports people with their debts, benefits and provides budgeting advice; we're making sure that people are actually in receipt of all of the benefits that they're entitled to."
She added that the local businesses have also seen a boost as a result: "We're looking at big chunks of money being brought back into our local economy; we're talking millions."
Off the back of their study, Trussell are calling on the government to rethink planned cuts to support for disabled people and to update Universal Credit to offer more protection.
Helen Barnard, director of policy, research and impact at Trussell, said: “Trussell’s major new research finds that the right thing to do is also common sense for our economy.
“With a heartbreaking 9.3 million people in the UK experiencing hunger and hardship, including 3 million children, the UK government has a moral and economic responsibility to tackle hunger, as more people risk being forced to the doors of food banks if nothing changes.
“The UK government must move quickly to meet its commitment on ending the need for emergency food, but planned cuts to disabled people’s social security risk plunging even more people into hunger and hardship."
In response, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “We have set out a sweeping package of reforms to health and disability benefits that genuinely supports people back into work and lifts people out of poverty, while putting the welfare system on a more sustainable footing so that the safety net is always there to protect those who need it most.
“Our £1bn employment support package will unlock work as part of our Plan for Change, alongside increasing the Living Wage, boosting benefits, and introducing a Fair Repayment Rate to help more than a million low-income households on Universal Credit.”