DOZENS of emergency food parcels were handed out to children in Warrington every week during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is according to a report by the Trussell Trust which reveals that a record 2.5million parcels were distributed by its network of food banks across the UK in 2020-21.

In Warrington, the charity handed out 11,377 emergency food parcels over the period, of which 3,717 went to children – the equivalent of 71 every week.

The overall figure, which includes parcels with three or seven days’ worth of supplies, was a 30 per cent increase on the total number recorded the previous year.

But the charity has warned its data does not come close to revealing the full scale of demand across the country, with unprecedented numbers of people being helped by other organisations that sprang up during the pandemic.

“No one should face the indignity of needing emergency food,” said Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust.

“Yet our network of food banks has given out record numbers of food parcels as more and more people struggle without enough money for the essentials.

Warrington Foodbank opened a new outlet in Golden Square Shopping Centre in October last year

Warrington Foodbank opened a new outlet in Golden Square Shopping Centre in October last year

“This is not right, but we know we can build a better future.”

The charity is calling on all levels of UK government to develop a plan to end the need for their use.

Across the UK, the 2.5 million parcels handed out in 2020-21 represented a 33 per cent increase on the previous year.

Of those, around 980,000 (39 per cent) went to children.

Following the report, a spokesman for the Government said: “We are committed to supporting the lowest-paid families and have targeted support to those most in need by raising the living wage, spending hundreds of billions to safeguard jobs, boosting welfare support by billions, and introducing the £269million Covid Local Support Grant to help children and families stay well-fed.

“We know that getting into well-paid work is the best route out of poverty, and our multi-billion pound Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country re-join the workforce as restrictions are eased.”