5,586 emergency food parcels were handed out by the Trussell Trust in Enfield between April and September 2021, according to new data. 2,312 of these parcels went to children. Local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, said that these figures are “shameful” and warned that many in the community will be facing “the stark choice of eat or heat” this winter.
Last year saw a record 421,426 food parcels being distributed by the Trussell Trust in London during the height of the pandemic.
However, this year’s figures for Enfield between April and September, mark a 40% increase on the same period in 2019- before the COVID-19 outbreak had struck.
Ms McCartney is calling for the Government to strengthen the safety net by taking measures such as reinstating the £20 weekly uplift to Universal Credit and increasing Local Housing Allowance to cover average rents in a local area.
Separate stats recently released by the NHS reveal that London had the highest rate of underweight children of reception and year six age in the country between April 2020 and March 2021. The capital also had the second highest prevalence of severely obese children.
Ms McCartney now wants to see measures taken to expand the eligibility for the Government’s Healthy Start scheme, which provides low-income pregnant women and households with children under four with free vouchers to by healthy food, milk and vitamins.
She also wants the Government to take measures to improve the uptake rate of the scheme which was at 45% in the borough as of September 2020. More recent figures are currently unavailable from the NHS Healthy Start website.
Local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, said:
“The idea of children going without food this winter is awful beyond words. The fact that we live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world only serves to compound this injustice.
“It is shameful that so many households in our community, and a significant number with children, have been plunged into food insecurity.
“Over the last decade, the lowest income Londoners have been left to fall through the holes that the Government has actively poked in our safety net.
“This winter, too many will be facing the stark choice of eat or heat.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, and the Government could turn this situation around by strengthening the welfare system, improving pay and increasing access to their Healthy Start food voucher scheme”.
Notes to editors
-A table of the latest Trussell Trust figures showing the number of emergency food parcels handed out in each borough between April and September 2021 can be found below:
-Between April and September 2021, 421,426 emergency food parcels were handed out in London by the Trussell Trust, marking the highest number on record;
-The latest National Child Measurement Programme stats, published by the NHS in November 2021, show that London had the highest rate of underweight children of reception and year six age in the country between April 2020 and March 2021. The capital also had the second highest prevalence of severely obese children;
-This year’s figures for Enfield between April and September, mark a 40% increase on the same period in 2019- before the COVID-19 outbreak had struck, when 3,976 emergency food parcels were distributed;
-More information about the NHS Healthy Start food voucher scheme can be found here;
-As of September 2020, the uptake rate of the Healthy Start food voucher scheme was at 45% in Enfield. More recent figures are currently unavailable from the NHS Healthy Start website;
-Joanne McCartney AM is the London Assembly Member for Enfield and Haringey