- New annual figures from Trussell show that more than 77,000 emergency parcels were provided by food banks in its community to people facing hunger in Northern Ireland over the past year – equivalent to one parcel every seven minutes
- There has been an increase is among families with children under five, with a 47% rise over the past five years
- The charity says this should be a ‘wake-up call’ for the Northern Irish and UK governments to strengthen the social security system and re-think cuts to disability payments that risk forcing more people to food banks
New figures released today by Trussell reveal that more than 77,000 (77,057) emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship across Northern Ireland between April 2024 and March 2025, with nearly 32,000 (31,798) of these provided for children. This is equivalent to one parcel every seven minutes and a 71% increase compared to the same period five years ago.
The annual figures also show significant numbers of parents struggling to afford the essentials. Since 2019/20, there has been a sharp (68%) rise in need from families with children needing emergency food and a 47% rise in parcels to support children under the age of five over the same period.
Many food banks in the Trussell community are now reporting severe levels of hardship that are ‘heartbreaking’, with some parents forced to ration their own food to ensure they can feed their children, as well as people in such desperate situations that they open food parcels to eat before leaving the food bank.
The charity reported a decrease (15%) in the total number of emergency food parcels compared with the previous year, but the need for emergency food is still persistently high.
Ken Scott, Manager of Bangor Foodbank and Community Support, said: “Our food bank is seeing far too many people who are forced to need our help. Food donations are not keeping up with the level of need we are seeing, and this is putting us under a lot of strain. It’s not right that anyone should be forced to turn to charity for emergency food.
“While we continue to campaign for change to prevent people from needing to use a food bank in the first place, if you can, we would encourage you to play your part and donate food or funds to help make sure everyone in our community can access the help they need.”
The charity is calling on the The Executive to:
- Ensure the anticipated Anti Poverty Strategy is not only published, but has a life cycle approach, guided by the recommendations of the Anti Poverty Co-Design Group, that has short, medium and long term goals accompanied by ring fenced cross-departmental budget
- Formally call on the UK government to legislate and deliver an Essentials Guarantee in our social security system
- Fully mitigate against the ‘five-week wait’ for a first Universal Credit payment, ensuring that the New Claims Grant is offered to every eligible Universal Credit claimant instead of the advance payment loan
- Call on the UK Government to scrap the two-child limit, and until the UK government acts, mitigate against its impact
- Provide support to individuals and families affected by the housing crisis by establishing a Financial Inclusion Service to provide advice and resources to people affected by Local Housing Rate shortfalls.
With MPs soon to vote on the UK government’s proposals to cut essential support for disabled and sick people, Trussell is warning that these changes could force even more people to turn to food banks to get by. Disabled people are already overrepresented at food banks, with three in four people referred to a food bank in the Trussell community saying they or a member of their household are disabled, placing them at the highest risk of hunger and hardship.
The charity is urging the government to re-think these proposed cuts and to urgently update Universal Credit to ensure that everyone has enough money to be able to afford the essentials in life. This means, for starters, bringing forward the planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit from April 2029 to April 2026 and half the proposed cuts to welfare support.
Trussell is also calling on the UK government to fulfil its commitment to an ambitious child poverty strategy, which includes ending the two-child limit – a change that would lift 470,000 children out of severe hardship.
Without urgent and positive action, the charity says there is a real risk the government will oversee an increase in hunger and hardship across Northern Ireland and more families will be forced to turn to food banks to survive.
Fiona Cole, policy manager in Northern Ireland at Trussell, said: “Far too many children, families, disabled people, working people, and older people from across Northern Ireland were forced to access food banks for emergency food in the past year. A whole generation has now grown up in a country where sustained high levels of food bank need feels like the norm and this should be a massive wake-up call to government and a stark reminder of their responsibilities to the people of this country.
“We urgently need the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver on the original ambition for an Anti-Poverty Strategy, alongside taking the steps needed to protect people from hunger and hardship in Northern Ireland now.
“At a UK level, the Westminster government will fail to improve living standards unless it rows back on its harmful policy choices on disability benefits, support for children, and housing support. Addressing hunger and hardship for both governments must be a priority.”
Food banks need everyone to play their part to move us towards ending the need for emergency food in Northern Ireland. The public can help make sure food banks can continue to provide warm, compassionate, practical support and advice in the year ahead by donating food or funds to Trussell or your local food bank to help end hunger in Northern Ireland.
You can find out how many emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship in your local area on the Trussell website: campaign.trussell.org.uk/parcels-by-postcode
