"Food insecurity and financial hardship are reaching unprecedented levels across Wales, placing intense pressure on foodbanks and crisis support services," writes Luke Fletcher MS.
This column was published in the Glamorgan Gazette on Thursday 24th October 2024.
Food insecurity and financial hardship are reaching unprecedented levels across Wales, placing intense pressure on foodbanks and crisis support services.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of the cost-of-living crisis, the number of people in Wales facing emergencies has steadily increased. In just the first eight months of 2024, Citizens Advice provided critical support to more than 25,289 individuals through programs such as the Discretionary Assistance Fund, food bank referrals, fuel vouchers, and Discretionary Housing Payments.
Wales’ hunger and hardship crisis is reflected in the numbers. According to a recent report from the Trussell Trust, 420,000 people – including 270,000 working-age adults, 38,000 pensioners, and 110,000 children – now struggle to afford essentials.
In Bridgend, the local foodbank’s data paints a stark picture of the increasing reliance on emergency food parcels and the systemic challenges facing families. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, the total number of food parcels distributed rose by 21%, reflecting the worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Employment alone is often not enough to ensure families have enough to live: 210,000 people in working families face hunger and hardship, with 28% of part-time working households experiencing food insecurity.
Changes to our economy and welfare systems are essential to ensure every individual has access to life’s necessities.
Matthew Stevens, campaign co-ordinator for Taff-Ely Foodbank, has told my office “we’ve witnessed a sharp increase in people accessing foodbanks in Bridgend and across Wales, particularly people on Universal Credit who cannot afford the essentials.”
Matthew added that the rate of Universal Credit falls significantly short of the cost of essentials such as food, toiletries and utility bills, “forcing people to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families.”
This is what it means to face hunger and hardship in Wales – and it is a reality that demands action.
Matthew is apart of the Guarantee our Essentials campaign, which Matthew says “seeks to bring together people with lived experiences of hardship, and local groups and organisations passionate about fighting destitution, to encourage the government to reform UC, and ensure it covers the essentials people need to live a dignified life.”
Matthew can be contacted via email at [email protected] by anyone with any questions or interest regarding the campaign.
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