Gower AM responds as food bank referrals surpass 100,000 in Wales for first time

Rebecca Evans AM, Assembly Member for Gower, has called the continued increase in the use of Foodbanks across Wales, “a scandal.”
 
Mrs Evans said: “In Wales the number of food parcels given out across Wales has soared. In Gower alone, 7852 three-day emergency food supplies were given to local people in crisis in the last year, with 2803 of these going to children.”
 
One of the main issues leading to the increase in use of food banks is that it is taking five weeks for people entitled to receive Universal Credit to get their first payment, leading to individuals and families struggling to survive.
 
In the light of this, Rebecca Evans AM has written to the Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions to call for an end to this damaging wait.
 
Mrs Evans added: ”More and more, we are also seeing working people also needing the help of food banks. Despite working one or more jobs, the cost of living and climate of politically-driven austerity means that many people are simply not bringing home enough money to survive. This is a devastating reflection of the choices that the UK Government is making and the impact those choices are having on people’s everyday lives.”