Food banks warn elderly and vulnerable are going hungry due to coronavirus
FOOD banks and charities are warning that elderly and vulnerable Brits go hungry due to the coronavirus crisis.
The government says its emergency food parcel delivery scheme will reach 400,000 people, but not everyone in need is eligible.
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Meanwhile, others face waiting for their food before the scheme catches up to demand.
Food Foundation reckons that 860,000 medically vulnerable people were already struggling to put food on the table before the coronavirus crisis.
But more Brits will now suffer a drop in income because of illness, new childcare requirements, reduced working hours or losing their jobs altogether.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced more people to rely on food banks, with one in Enfield reporting an 80 per cent increase in the number of visitors in one week in March.
Get help from a food bank
If you aren't eligible, it's worth getting in touch with your nearest food bank and explain your situation.
It'll be able to tell you which referral agencies they work with in your area and how you can get a voucher.
Trussel Trust operates the largest UK network of food banks - you can find your nearest one using .
Keep in mind that you’ll need a food voucher in order to receive help from the food bank.
Emergency funding from your council
In some situations you can apply to your council’s local welfare assistance scheme.
These schemes are usually available to people on a low income that are facing financial difficulty.
Each local authority runs their own scheme with different qualifying criteria, so you'll need to contact your council directly for more information.
This has left "unprecedented numbers" of older people who don't qualify for help struggling to put food on the table, said Sonya Johnson, chief executive of charity Nuneaton and Bedworth Healthy Living Network, which operates a food bank.
First reported by , she said: “The official scheme identifies those most at risk of ending up in hospital.
"But there are probably four times as many who are just on the other side of that fine line or who have undiagnosed conditions.
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Meanwhile, Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of food redistribution charity FareShare, said over 500 more organisations have asked for food supplies in the last month alone.
This includes organisations who need help delivering emergency food parcels and hot meals onto the doorsteps of those most in need.
It also includes food banks who normally would have relied on donations from shoppers, she added.
And Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said: "There are nearly four million people who were living in food insecurity even before COVID-19, but who are not eligible for government food parcels."
";More than ever before we need our government to ensure that every vulnerable adult and child gets the food and financial support they so urgently need."
A government spokesperson told The Sun: "Up to 1.5million people in England have been identified as being the most clinically vulnerable and at higher risk of severe illness if they contract coronavirus.
“We are working to identify others who may still need support in getting essential food supplies.
"We are speaking to food retailers and volunteer groups to help prioritise those individuals for extra help or home deliveries."
Over the weekend, the government announced 50,000 food boxes had been sent to the most vulnerable Brits stuck inside during coronavirus lockdown.
Meanwhile, Morrisons has set aside £10million of groceries to restock food banks.
Plus, we've explained how to help food banks during the coronavirus crisis.