‘Some can’t afford to feed their families’

According to a study by the Trussell Trust, 500,000 people last year used food banks in the UK. The Red Cross also announced this month that it was to start distributing food aid in the UK for the first time.

But Batley and Spen MP Mike Wood believes the number of people having to use food banks has now run into the millions.

He said: “There is a real need to provide food for people who, in some cases, can’t afford to feed their families.

“The use of food banks has trebled in the last year, so there must now be two to three million people in the UK using them. We are the fifth richest economy in the world and I find it shameful that we have so many people in this position.”

Batley Food Bank has now received £2,717.82 of area committee funding.

It has been supported by local churches and groups but they were struggling to meet demand.