The Trussell Trust has taken the Overall Award at this year’s Charity Awards, the longest-running and most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector.
As well as winning the top prize in the Social Care and Welfare category, The Trussell Trust was chosen as the Overall Winner at this year’s ceremony for its nationwide network of more than 400 foodbanks, which provided over 1.1 million three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis last year.
From the opening of the first foodbank in a garden shed 16 years ago, the network now comprises over 425 foodbanks operating in over 1,200 distribution centres with the help of more than 40,000 volunteers who offer a cup of tea or coffee, a listening ear, and guidance about other support services to people receiving food. Over 30,000 schools, businesses, and frontline professionals participate in a referral system to identify and support those in genuine need. Foodbanks are sustained by the generosity of the public, and some four million people have donated food.
Foodbanks in The Trussell Trust network collect data on the reasons people are referred for a food parcel. In 2015-16, the three primary reasons for referral were benefit delays (28%), low income (23%) and benefit changes (14%). The charity uses its evidence base to make politicians across the political spectrum aware of the impact of welfare issues and other policies, and recently successfully persuaded ministers in Northern Ireland to adopt changes to the new Universal Credit system.
