THE number of hungry children relying on food banks for meals has soared in the last year as a new report reveals some parts of the city are among the most deprived in the country.
The report, which investigated food poverty in Worcester, said the number of children and young people receiving help from food banks had risen “dramatically” since the pandemic and the number of hungry children was “worrying” and had become “an increasing area of concern.”
One city councillor said the current poverty and deprivation in Worcester is the worst he had seen in more than 30 years.
Based on the multiple deprivation index, which measures jobs and income, education, health, crime and barriers to housing and other services, figures show that city council wards such as Rainbow Hill, Warndon and St John’s are among the 10 per cent most deprived in the UK and have the most children receiving free school meals than anywhere else in the city.
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Almost 17 per cent of children and young people in Worcester live in poverty, according to the report.
Cllr Richard Udall, who represents the city’s St John’s ward, said the poverty in the city was the worst he had seen in more than 30 years serving as a councillor.
“This a very angry and frustrating report,” he told the council’s health and wellbeing committee during a meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (June 22).
“Free school holiday club meals in Worcester. Soup kitchens in Worcester. Discretionary welfare assistance schemes in Worcester. Food banks in Worcester.
“It is outrageous that we are so relaxed and calm about these issues.
“I have been a councillor for 31 years and this is the worst time I have known for poverty, deprivation and anguish in our city.
“I have never had to knock on doors and see people crying because they can’t feed their children that night.”
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According to research by the University of Sheffield using data from the Food Foundation, more than 13 per cent of households in Worcester have struggled with food and had either asked for help, reduced the size of meals or skipped eating altogether.
Cllr Lynn Denham, chair of the health and wellbeing committee, said the statistics were “shocking” and went on to pay tribute to community organisations and volunteers without whose “enormous” work would leave the city “poorer in every way.”
It has been 10 years this week since Worcester Foodbank handed out its first emergency food parcel and has gone on to provide 800,000 meals since.
Organisers marked the sad milestone saying that demand has continued to soar, but donations are beginning to dry up as more and more people begin to suffer from the cost-of-living crisis.
The number of people fed by foodbank has risen sharply from 2,850 in the first full year to more than 11,600 in the last 12 months alone – with the impact of the pandemic and soaring cost-of-living pushing more households into needing lifeline support.
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