’One in three foodbank users is a child’

Researchers from Oxford and Chester Universities have systematically identified the characteristics of people who use food banks in the UK, looking at why they need to resort to the emergency food parcels. Last year, nearly 2,900 three-day food supplies were handed out in West Cheshire in North West England. The research shows that one in three people using the foodbank in West Cheshire was a child. The West Cheshire Foodbank in North West England, part of the UK-wide Trussell Trust Foodbank Network, provided the statistical data used by the researchers. The growth of emergency food provision in West Cheshire reflected the national picture overall, says the study. The researchers explored trends in recent years in the provision of emergency food in West Cheshire. They also drew on more detailed data from West Cheshire Foodbank concerning the reasons for referral and how long people expected their income crisis to last between May 2014 and April 2016. The results show that benefit delays accounted for one in five referrals, while benefit sanctions resulted in one in 12 referrals, with one fifth of those affected by sanctions being children.