Food bank use in the UK has soared by more than 50 per cent over the past five years, raising fresh concerns over the effectiveness of Universal Credit and wider welfare reforms in addressing the growing poverty crisis.
According to figures published by the Trussell Trust, a record 2.9 million emergency food parcels were distributed between April 2024 and March 2025 - equivalent to one parcel every 11 seconds.
The charity warned that upcoming cuts to welfare, including changes to disability benefits, risk worsening the situation and entrenching hardship for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable households.
“This UK government will fail to deliver on its promise to improve living standards for us all unless it rows back on its harmful policy choices on disability benefits and housing support,” said Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust. She urged ministers to show “greater ambition on areas like the upcoming child poverty strategy and the future of local crisis support”.
The data also shows a 46 per cent increase in food bank use among families with children since 2019/20, and a 32 per cent rise among households with children under five. Revie described the findings as a “wake-up call” and called for hunger and hardship to be prioritised in public policy. “Without action, [the government] risk leaving a legacy of rising food bank need and child poverty,” she warned.
Despite the government’s assurances that welfare reform is “changing lives for the better”, many remain unconvinced that Universal Credit is serving its intended purpose. A government spokesperson said: “We are reforming the broken welfare system we inherited so we can get people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most.”
The spokesperson added that as part of their “Plan for Change,” the government is extending the Household Support Fund, launching 750 breakfast clubs, and implementing changes to Universal Credit to provide a £420 annual boost to over one million households.
However, critics argue that these measures are inadequate in the face of rising demand and worsening inequality.
Neil Coyle, Labour MP and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Food Banks, acknowledged a slight year-on-year improvement - a reported eight per cent drop in need compared to last year - but stressed that “there’s a lot more work to do”.
“When Labour last left office, there were only about 40,000 people using food banks in the country. That had reached 1.8 million by the time we regained office,” said Coyle. “It pours shame over the last government.”
He also highlighted growing concern among Labour MPs over plans to reduce support for disabled people, saying it was “not exactly a state secret” that there is “lots of Labour discomfort” about the impact of planned changes to Personal Independence Payments.
Andy McDonald MP described the figures as “a stain on past governments” and said they reflect “the scale of the cost-of-living crisis and problem of poverty in the country”.
He called for urgent action: “It is the Labour government’s job to alleviate poverty, particularly for children, including ending reliance on food banks, and we urgently need the child poverty strategy delivered as soon as possible.”
McDonald also criticised cuts to winter fuel allowances, unresolved issues around WASPI pensions, and welfare policies that he said have reduced incomes and “support for the government”. He added, “The government must urgently decide to pause and rethink its cuts to PIP and Universal Credit if we are to alleviate poverty and bring down food bank use.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has responded to the backlash, telling LBC: “We always listen to our voters, to our constituents, and I do understand the concerns that some people have about the level at which the Winter Fuel Payment is removed.”
Still, food bank reliance is rising at an alarming rate, and charities fear the situation could worsen. The Trussell Trust and MPs from across the political spectrum continue to press for a comprehensive strategy to reduce poverty, ensure a stronger safety net, and ultimately remove the need for food banks altogether.
