Ringwood and Waterside foodbanks join campaign led by hunger and poverty charity The Trussell Trust urging government to increase Universal Credit to cover essentials

TWO New Forest foodbanks are backing a national campaign which calls on the government to guarantee everyone can afford life’s essentials.

Ringwood and Waterside foodbanks are backing hunger and poverty charity The Trussell Trust, which is urging the government to introduce an ‘Essentials Guarantee’.

This would mean ensuring the basic rate of Universal Credit covering the cost of essentials that people need such as food, household bills and travel costs.

A stall in The Furlong in Ringwood will be promoting the campaign tomorrow (Friday) between 9am and 3pm.

There will also be a stand in Hythe High Street on Saturday during the same hours,

Chair of trustees at Ringwood Foodbank, Chris Lee, said: “Many of our clients are on Universal Credit and the fact that so many people are coming through food bank doors demonstrates that Universal Credit simply isn’t enough to get by on.”

The organisation has had its “busiest year ever” and distributed over 46,000 meals.

Chris added: “We saw many clients for the first time, with families with children or where a member of the family is sick or disabled, were particularly hard hit.

“As a society we need to ensure that people do not need to depend on foodbanks to be able to look after themselves and their families.”

Between April 2022 and March 2023 the Trussell Trust says it gave out three million food parcels, surpassing the previous record set during the coronavirus pandemic.

It says the basic cost of core essentials for a single person is £120 a week, but Universal Credit is only £85, leaving a £35 weekly shortfall in people’s budgets.

Chair of Waterside Foodbank, Linda Matthews, said it had just experienced its “busiest ever” summer school holiday.

She said: “The number of food boxes going out is up 30% on last year but donations are down by 20%, which is understandable due to the cost of living crisis and people not being able to donate as much.

“We are having to buy in more food and essentials than ever before, which is very concerning as we approach the winter months and Christmas.”