THE increased use of foodbanks has been described as "extremely alarming" after a record number of emergency parcels were handed out in Bradford this past summer.

11,693 were provided between April and September across seven food banks in the city - a rise from 10,389 during the same period the year before.

It is the highest number since local figures from The Trussell Trust were first made available in 2018.

The charity, which helps run more than 1,500 food banks across the UK, described the soaring need for essentials as "extremely alarming".

Bradford Central Foodbank has witnessed a huge increase in demand over the past year meaning they are now feeding almost 1,500 people a month.

"It was 1,424 last month and 1,474 the previous month," the charity's manager Josie Barlow said.

"It is because of the cost-of-living crisis. Inflation, rent, and food prices just keep going up.

"The gap between the amount of money people are getting in and the amount of money it costs to live is getting wider."

The charity's figures show 4,311 of this summer's food parcels in Bradford were for children.

Ms Barlow added: "Bradford is very generous, so many people have been giving their time, food and money. 

"Before this year, all the food was donated but now we have had to buy a lot in. That is not very sustainable."

Across the UK, a record of nearly 1.5 million parcels were distributed – 200,000 more than in the summer of 2022.

Emma Revie, chief executive of The Trussell Trust, said: "An increasing number of children are growing up in families facing hunger, forced to turn to food banks to survive."

"A generation is growing up believing that it’s normal to see a food bank in every community. This is not right," she added.

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "There are 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty than in 2010, but we know some families are struggling, which is why we are providing a record support package worth £3,300 per household.

"This includes the latest cost of living payments paid directly to over eight million households this year, our decision to raise benefits by over 10 per cent earlier this year, and our £2 billion Household Support Fund which is helping people to buy essentials."

They added the Government is aiming to get more people into work through investment and increasing the national living wage.