The Trussell Trust

Who we are

More than 14 million people in the UK live below the poverty line. The Trussell Trust knows it takes more than food to end hunger. So they bring together the experiences of food banks in their network, and their communities, to challenge the structural economic issues that lock people in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.

There are more than 1,200 food bank centres in the Trussell Trust’s network and they support these food banks to provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis (for instance by advice agencies, GPs, social services and schools), as well as support to help people resolve the crises they face.

In the last year, food banks in their network distributed a record 1.6 million emergency food parcels to people facing hunger – more than half a million of these went to children.

The top three reasons for referral to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network in 2018-19 were- ‘income not covering essential costs’, ‘benefit delays’ and ‘benefit changes’, this includes people waiting five or more weeks for a first Universal Credit payment.

The Trussell Trust believes no charity can replace the dignity of having financial security and that’s why they campaign for change to help create a future where no needs to use a food bank.