Paul Parker explores extreme poverty and food banks
The recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting took part in a Trussell Trust event in early December
Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), took part in a Trussell Trust event for church leaders this month. The gathering explored the role of faith communities in addressing the effects and root causes of the extreme poverty which drives food bank use.
Writing on his Facebook page, Paul Parker said that the charity quoted ‘some truly shocking figures: their 28,000 volunteers distributed 1.6 million [food bank parcels] last year; the average household income for food bank users is £50 per week after housing costs, five times lower than the “official” poverty line. Fifty per cent of their service-users have mental ill-health, and two thirds of food bank users report having had problems with the benefits system in the previous year. Delays, sanctions and changes to disability benefits all contribute to this shocking picture’.
Paul Parker also highlighted the 6,500 churches – including many Quaker Meetings – involved in the provision of food banks which he described as ‘a great example of ecumenical work, notwithstanding the trials of the last few months’.
He added: ‘The challenge Trussell Trust is facing is to get their 28,000 volunteers, and the churches many of them come from, to engage not just in feeding the destitute, but in changing the systems that lead to the destitution in the first place.’
