DUP councillor expresses concern that Tyrone foodbank fed over 1,000 more people in 2023

Dungannon Foodbank revealed that it provided food parcels to more than 1,000 people in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Around 7,552 people had used its services during 2023, over 1,000 more people than needed help during 2022.

The Church Street facility is a collaboration between the Vineyard Church and the Trussell Trust charity.

In a social media post, it said volunteers 'dreamed of a day' when foodbanks are not needed.

Local Councillor Clement Cuthbertson said it was concerning that there is such a need and demand for the foodbank in the local community.

He said it was matter that the government would need to look into given the rising cost of living impacting so many households.

The DUP representative thanked the volunteers at Dungannon Foodbank for giving up their time to help the needy and to run the charity.

Food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Northern Ireland distributed 81,084 emergency food parcels between 1 April 2022 to 31st March 2023, including 35,334 parcels for children. This is the most parcels that the network in Northern Ireland has ever distributed in a financial year and represents a 29% increase from the same period in 2021/22.

The need seen in this 12-month period is even greater than that seen by the network in Northern Ireland in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the financial year 2020/21, food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Northern Ireland saw record levels of need as the impact of redundancies, reduction to incomes, and the income shocks of moving from employment to social security that many households experienced took hold. The increases seen in 2022/23, represent a 2% increase in the number of parcels distributed in Northern Ireland, on this turbulent year.

Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie described the figures as “extremely concerning”.

She said: “If we are to stop this continued growth and end the need for food banks then the UK government must ensure that the standard allowance of Universal Credit is always enough to cover essential costs.”