Foodbank usage has risen by at least 45% in Buckinghamshire over the last four years

    This news comes according to a new report from Green MEP Keith Taylor.

    The report 'Escalating Hunger in the South East', published on Friday [23 February] details the extent to which people in the South East are having to rely on emergency food parcels as low pay and welfare cuts push more and more people into food poverty. 

    The report features insights from foodbanks across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight. 

    In Buckinghamshire, foodbank dependency has risen by more than 45% since the senior Green MEP published his first foodbank report in 2013. According to the latest report, foodbank demand has is being driven by low pay and welfare problems.

    Aylesbury Foodbank is featured in the report. The organisation is relatively new, having started in April 2016. Between then and April 2017, it supported 745 people. But between just April and December last year it had already supported 757.  Heather-Joy Garrett, the coordinator at Aylesbury Foodbank, believes foodbanks should be an "adjunct and not a necessity". She adds:

    "The number of people that I see with delays in benefits or problems in benefit is heartbreaking."

    Like many of the foodbanks featured in the report, Aylesbury foodbank is deeply concerned about the detrimental impact Universal Credit will have on those already living below the poverty line.

    Commenting on the findings, Mr Taylor said:

    "Foodbanks are a lifeline to those in need across the South East but, at the same time, they continue to be a stain on the government’s record on poverty and inequality. In the last four years, Conservative ministers have overseen at least a 20% rise in foodbank dependency in my constituency alone."

    "Across the UK, foodbank use has soared by at least 65% with even nurses being forced to rely on emergency food parcels as the reality of Britain’s record in-work poverty levels hit home. Low income is now one of the single biggest reasons why people are forced to seek emergency food aid. In the UK, there are seven million people from working households currently living below the poverty line. And a third of children are living in poverty - despite the majority being from working families." 

    "Similarly, we have seen the number of rough sleepers increase 169% under the Tories while homelessness has soared. In the South East, there are now more than 27,000 people without a home. Poverty, homelessness and foodbank dependency are issues that are inexorably linked and have intensified in the last seven years. It is why foodbanks remain one of Britain's few booming industries."

    "My report reveals a shameful side of the British economy that is deliberately hidden from view by the government. As wages continue to stagnate, as Brexit continues to push up the cost of living and as the government forces ahead with its welfare cuts and the disastrous rollout of Universal Credit, there is little hope this situation will improve under the current administration."

    "Some will say that poverty is inevitable, no matter what you do. Greens reject this. For us, poverty is political and its elimination will always be a top priority."

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