A blgo by Caroline on her surgery at the City Mission's food bank:

Today, I held a special surgery at the Food Bank run by the City Mission (http://www.bhcm.org.uk/teams/brighton-food-bank), to mark their 15^th anniversary and to hear from some of my constituents how the pervasive problem of food poverty is directly impacting them.

Brighton Food Bank’s 3 members of staff and 16 volunteers do incredible work to support individuals and families in the city, at a time of crisis. Fareshare have declared them ‘one of the UK’s best run food banks’ and praised the care and compassion with which they support and empower clients. They are the city’s busiest food bank, with over 200 visits every month.

The irony is, all of the fantastic people doing this kind of work, also sincerely wish that they didn’t have to. We all agree that the continued, growing need for their service is an indictment of an unfair system. 

It should not be left to the wonderful staff and volunteers at food banks and charities to do the work of the welfare state. The government need to do all that they can to tackle this challenge as the social security safety net is failing to catch a frightening amount of vulnerable people.

Statistics from the Trussell Trust show that benefit delays and changes account for 43% of food bank referrals. The latest report from Feeding Britain (http://feedingbritain.com/) suggests that the amount of people needing emergency food provision would be more than halved with a fairer, more effective benefits system.

There is great work being done across the country, to relieve and prevent hunger. I congratulate all at Brighton Food Bank for 15 years of caring work. I look forward to continuing, alongside colleagues in Parliament and in Brighton and Hove, to make strides towards a day when we no longer need foodbanks.