FOODBANK bosses are concerned that the scale of support needed is reaching crisis levels following a steep rise in the cost of living, despite a small decrease in foodbank referrals over the last year.

Latest figures show that food bank use in Braintree fell below pre-pandemic levels in the district last year.

The Braintree Area Foodbank handed out 5,708 emergency food parcels to people between April 2021 and March 2022, 2,596 of which went to children.

This was down from 5,842 the year before, and a decrease of 6 per cent on the 6,060 provided in the year to March 2020, before the pandemic.

The charity believes the decrease in referrals is due to the support mechanisms which were in place during the pandemic.

However, with the cost of living rising and the Universal Credit uplift being withdrawn, they anticipate that referrals will increase over the next few months.

The need for foodbanks in the network has accelerated throughout the past six months, and foodbank managers are warning of a growing crisis following a cut to Universal Credit last October.

Braintree Area Foodbank says its team will always do all they can to help people in the community, but they should not need to distribute emergency food parcels on this scale.

Braintree Foodbank Project manager Lee Ranson said: “The support we see across the community for people on the lowest incomes is incredible, but it shouldn’t be needed.

“5,708 food parcels in the Braintree district are 5,708 too many.

“No one should be pushed deeper into poverty without enough money for the things we all need.

“It’s not right that anyone in our area needs a charity’s help with food in the first place, and we know our figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as there are many other different community organisations, independent foodbanks and local authorities working to support our community.

“At the moment the situation is only set to get worse, as this is just the start of the cost-of-living crisis. People cannot afford to wait any longer for support – UK, national and local governments at all levels must use their powers and take urgent action now to strengthen our social security system so it keeps up with the true cost of living.”