Wakefield families are struggling to find enough food for their children

Food banks have reported record numbers of people needing help throughout 2020 and are expecting another tough year as the country enters a third national lockdown.

Last month food waste scheme The Real Junk Food Project delivered 8,000 free food hampers to people across West Yorkshire for Christmas thanks to the kindness of a massive team of volunteers.

The scheme saved 70 tonnes of food from going to waste.

Founder of TRJFP, Adam Smith said: “It wasn’t just about getting parcels to everybody, it was more about focusing on the amount of waste that was generated, our warehouse is full of food and it shouldn’t be.

“The whole point of this was not to gloat at Christmas that we could do this but to highlight how much food waste there is.”

TRJFP intercepts unsold food from businesses and supermarkets which would otherwise go to waste to make the food hampers.

He said they faced many challenges in completing the project including not having enough drivers to make the deliveries with 13,000 people registering for a food parcel or gift.

But hundreds of volunteers stepped in to help prepare the boxes, wrap gifts and to deliver the parcels from TRJFP.A total of 3,000 presents were donated to the project.

The Trussell Trust, which supports a network of food banks around the county, said 2,600 emergency food parcels were provided for children every day on average by its food banks in the during the first six months of the pandemic alone.

More than 1.2 million emergency food parcels were given to people struggling to afford essentials by food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK-wide network between 1st April and 30th September 2020, making it the busiest ever half-year period for food banks; over 470,000 of these parcels went to children.

While the figures highlight the level of need across the UK, the charity warns their new figures do not include the number of people helped by the countless new community organisations, independent food banks and local authorities, which have stepped up during the pandemic to support their communities.