Lockdown, lifelines and the long haul ahead: The impact of Covid-19 on food banks in the Trussell Trust network

Carried out with Heriot Watt University, this research reveals the impact of the pandemic on food bank use during the first half of 2020, and forecasts how need will continue to change this winter.

The executive summary , policy paper from NIESR, more information on the survey findings, and the technical report are also available.

Food banksSocial security

Well before Covid-19 hit the UK, food banks in the Trussell community had been seeing year-on-year increases in levels of need, with 1.9 million emergency food parcels given out in 2019/20.

Previous research has found that the overwhelming majority of people using food banks in the Trussell community are destitute and, even before the pandemic, the number of people struggling to make ends meet was increasing. This crisis has landed after years of stagnant wages and frozen, capped working age benefits - leaving those on the lowest incomes vulnerable to income shocks.

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Lockdown, lifelines and the long haul ahead: The impact of Covid-19 on food banks in the Trussell Trust network

Carried out with Heriot Watt University, this research reveals the impact of the pandemic on food bank use during the first half of 2020, and forecasts how need will continue to change this winter.

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