THE spiralling number of hungry families turning to food banks across our region should be a mark of shame for the Government.

Back in 2009, before the Liberal Democrat / Conservative coalition took power, 41,000 people were given three days’ food by the 56 food banks established at that time by the then little-known charity The Trussell Trust.

This year more than 1.1 million three-day emergency food supplies were provided to people in crisis by the trust’s network of 420 foodbanks.

Of this number, 415,866 went to children.

The trust was conceived almost 20 years ago by two former UN workers who wanted to support street children in Bulgaria. Its food banks are now believed to now account for roughly half the UK’s network, but there is no complete database of the charities giving out emergency food aid. The lack of data is partly due to the Government’s failure to monitor how many people are falling through its welfare net.

Many of the people who attend food banks are working but earn so little that they find it hard to make ends meet. The main issues that cause working people to be referred are low wages, insecure work, high living costs and problems accessing working benefits.

Many food bank users are embroiled in the delays of the Department of Work and Pensions’ red tape.

The Christmas period puts an extra strain on families already struggling to cope with bills and the number of people being forced to choose between heating and eating is growing too.

Food banks are increasingly being used to fill the gaps in Britain’s creaking welfare system.

They are a sign of an economy which is failing large numbers of its people and we should not accept them as part and parcel of life in modern Britain.