Christian charity the Trussell Trust said that it has seen a surge in drop offs in food donations since Boris Johnson and the Conservatives won a landslide victory to stay inside Number 10 after winning with a 78 majority.
The charity is urging the government to take action to help those in poverty, Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust said: "The Conservative party manifesto for this election promised 'we will do more to make universal credit work'. Just last week on the campaign trail, Boris Johnson said helping people with the cost of living is 'an absolute crusade' for him personally.
"It is crucial these words are acted on. We know what hasn't been working as it should, and we know what needs to change. We must start putting money back into the pockets of people who most need support, by ending the five week wait for Universal Credit, ensuring benefit payments cover the cost of living and investing in local emergency support for people in crisis.
"It's in our power as a country to end the need for food banks. But if we're to get there, we need our new government to act. We're ready to share evidence from our network of food banks across the UK, and we'd encourage any new MPs to speak to their local food bank about why people are being referred for emergency food. It's not right that anyone should have to turn to charity for the basics – this can change."
Data released recently by the charity revealed December 2018 was the busiest month for food banks last year. 186,185 three-day emergency food parcels were provided by food banks in the Trussell Trust's network to people in crisis; 78,536 of these went to children. This is 44 per cent higher than the monthly average for the 2018-19 financial year.
Just weeks ago, the charity published figures for April – September 2019 showing that there has already been a 23 per cent increase in the number of food parcels provided compared to the same period in 2018.
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