Spike in Newcastle food bank demand over Easter holidays
A Newcastle foodbank say they are seeing an increase in families needing support during the Easter holidays.
They explain how the gap between income and the cost of living across the region is significant.
The foodbank are therefore calling on the government to bring in further policy changes to end poverty.
Gemma Whaley, Deputy Chief Executive at Newcastle Foodbank, said: "On average, we can see up to 1,500 people each month and our data shows that we do see an increase during the school holidays, particularly over the Easter and Christmas periods.
"We particularly see an increase in families with children using the food bank, with parents telling us that the school holidays bring additional pressures to households because the parents must provide an extra meal for children which they don't have to when the children are at school.
"Parents are telling us that the school holidays bring extra strains because not only do they have to provide additional meals for their children, but they also have to find ways to keep their children entertained and this often means additional expenses that parents have to find.
"People in lone parent families and larger families are far more likely to experience persistent poverty and the school holidays makes it even tougher for families with changes in daily routines and children requiring extra meals which would be usually provided by the schools."