16,000 emergency food parcels given out in year

MORE than 16,000 emergency food parcels were given to people facing hunger by food banks in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) in the last year.

- ANTHONY LEWIS Local Democracy Reporter

A total of 16,634 emergency food parcels were provided between April 2024 and March 2025, with more than 5,793 of them being for children.

New annual figures from Trussell show 60,158 emergency food parcels were given out across Wales, which it said should be a "wake-up call" for the UK Government to strengthen the social security system and rethink cuts to welfare which risk forcing more people into having to use food banks.

RCT has seen a slight decrease of 7.7% in the number of emergency food parcels distributed compared to last year but it has seen persistently high levels of need over the last five years, and a 30.2% increase when compared with the same period in 2019-20.

A spokesperson for the food bank networks said: "Although we have seen a slight decrease in the number of parcels distributed, far too many people in our communities are still going without the essentials.