Demand for food donations in Surrey up by nearly half
Trussell Trust, who have published the figures, are calling on the Government to rethink welfare reforms.
The demand for food donations in Surrey has risen by 44% in the last five years.
Figures have been published by the Trussell Trust, a charity that both runs food banks and campaigns to end the need for them.
They report that the number of food donation boxes provided for people in Surrey rose from 28,869 between 2019 and 2020 to 41,666 in the last year.
In the South East, someone in need receives a food box every 90 seconds.
Trussell's network lead for the South East Amy Wisenfeld says the organisation relies on donations.
"Food banks are giving out increasing numbers of food parcels every week. We desperately need more people to support us."
Trussell are urging the Government to row back on its welfare reform plans, which it described as a "harmful" policy choice and said Labour risks a legacy of rising food bank need and child poverty.
Trussell chief executive Emma Revie says the Government must make addressing hunger and hardship a priority as part of its overall plans to boost the economy, as she urged a rethink on welfare reforms.
The Government's proposals, set out earlier this year, would tighten the eligibility criteria for the main disability benefit in England and see the sickness-related element of Universal Credit cut.
Ms Revie said: "Thousands of families with children, single households, disabled people, working people and older people from across the UK needed to access food banks for emergency food in the past year.
"A whole generation has now grown up in a country where sustained high levels of food bank need feel like the norm. This should be a massive wake-up call to Government and a stark reminder of their responsibilities to the people of this country."
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."