Food bank charity Trussell has released its figures for 2025. And they show that it provided more than 2.6 million emergency food parcels during the year.

A parcel typically contains three days’ supplies for one person. The figures also include some seven day packages. And Trussell acknowledges that there are thousands of other charities and independent groups providing food aid throughout the UK.

Food bank use slightly down on 2024

Trussell reported a 12% drop in the total parcel numbers compared to 2024. This was largely due to easing inflation, which led to a slowdown in the rising cost of essentials. There were also fewer people losing their jobs.

While this means some people have been able to get back on their feet, the charity warns too many are feeling “overlooked and left behind”. Incomes from social security and wages continue to fail to cover the high costs of essentials like food, utility bills, and toiletries.

Parents are among the people shouldering the heaviest burden as families with children received almost two thirds (62%) of all parcels in 2025. This is despite them making up just 42% of the UK population. Trussell is also reporting an alarming rise in hardship among older people. Support provided for people aged 65 and over more than tripled (247% increase) between 2019 and 2025.

Food banks are describing the persistent hardship they witness as “appalling”, with people sitting in the dark to save electricity, parents skipping meals to feed their children, and people in such impossible situations that they open food parcels to eat before leaving the food bank.

At the same time, levels of need continue to outpace donations. Many food banks say they are at breaking point and are having to purchase significant amounts of food just to keep shelves stocked.

Calls for government action on hardship

Helen Barnard, director of policy and research at Trussell, said:

Today’s figures show that too many people across the UK are still being pushed to the brink. Even as we gain hope from people getting back on their feet, we cannot lose sight of the heartbreaking injustice that such shocking numbers of people are still trapped in the grip of severe hardship.

This isn’t right. Too many people are being forced to skip meals so their children can eat, or survive on cups of tea because they don’t have any food left in the cupboards. The pandemic and cost of living crisis have left deep scars. Severe hardship still weighs heavily on daily lives, leaving people feeling overlooked and left behind.

Slowing price rises alone cannot solve the scale of severe hardship still facing our communities. And as we face uncertain times again, progress can be too easily undone.

We need the UK government to continue to take meaningful and lasting action so all of us have what we need to get by. Bold choices like ending the two child limit are a step forward. But we cannot stop until everyone has enough to afford the essentials and we can end the need for food banks for good.

Amie, 45, from North Lincolnshire who has two children, said:

I had to use the food bank when my husband left and I lost my job in quick succession. I was able to access food through the food bank but still felt like I was floundering.

I managed to get a temporary job, then set up my own business, but I still needed to access community food support.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out with my business, but I managed to find work in a similar job. However, this is now at risk due to the lack of funding. I receive Universal Credit because my income from work isn’t high enough to support my family as a single mum. If I lose this paid work I will struggle to pay for even the essentials every month.

I am worried that I may need to access a food bank again. Making sure my children eat will always be my priority. It’s a terrible state that we’re in where in 2026 so many people have to use food banks. Everyone should have enough money to afford the essentials.

A host of famous faces including actor Christopher Eccleston, singer Tom Grennan, TV star Carol Vorderman and actors Mark Bonnar and Brian Cox are joining Trussell’s call to end the need for food banks across the UK.

Eccleston, said:

Today, Trussell’s shocking new figures show that millions of people are being forced to turn to food banks because they don’t have enough money to live on. This isn’t right.

Everyone should be able to afford the essentials like food, utility bills and toiletries. They are not luxuries, but they have become them to people living on the lowest incomes because work or social security just isn’t enough.

Hunger in the UK isn’t a food problem, it’s an income problem. Our social security system should be there for all of us when we need it most – but right now, it’s not enough to cover the cost of the essentials and it’s pushing people to food banks.

That’s why I’m standing with Trussell to call on the UK Government to make policy changes so that everyone can afford the essentials we all need to get by.

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Grennan, said:

It’s shocking how many people are having to turn to food banks to get by because they do not have enough money to live on. This is unacceptable.

I’ve spent time volunteering at my local food bank and the conversations you have there stay with you. No one wants to go to a food bank for support. It’s where people turn when they have no other option.

The fact that so many parcels go out to families with children is heartbreaking. It’s clear that the system isn’t working, and that too many people are just one step away from facing hunger and hardship.

Food banks are a lifeline, but they aren’t the answer. Everyone should have enough money to cover the essentials like food and bills. That’s why I’m standing with Trussell to call for change. We need our politicians to commit to ending food bank need for good.

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With growing uncertainty around the cost of essentials, Trussell says now is the time for the UK government to build firmer foundations for people on the lowest incomes. The charity is calling on the UK government to:

• Lift the freeze on Local Housing Allowance and create a permanent link between rents and support, so more people are protected from runaway rental costs.
• Establish an independent process to advise on the minimum level of Universal Credit payments, moving us closer to an Essentials Guarantee that ensures the basic rate of Universal Credit always covers the cost of essentials and can never be pulled below that level.

Food banks need everyone to play their part to move us towards ending the need for emergency food in the UK. The public can help make sure food banks can continue to provide warm, compassionate, practical support and advice in the year ahead by donating food or funds to Trussell or your local food bank to help end hunger in the UK.

Find out how many emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship in your local area.

Featured image via the Canary

Research shows that UK shoppers intend to buy 20 million bouquets of flowers for loved ones this Mother’s Day. But as each bouquet often comes wrapped in a plastic sleeve, this contributes to a disheartening amount of plastic waste.

New data shows that equates to around 2.7 million m² of plastic film. This would be enough to cover 378 football pitches or enough to wrap Buckingham Palace 35 times.

All of this comes with a significant carbon footprint, with 124.2  tonnes of CO₂ emissions generated from the production of this plastic. That’s the same as approximately 15 UK households’ annual emissions.

Each bunch of flowers also often comes with one or two sachets of food in a plastic container, which further adds to plastic waste. Rubber bands usually hold each bouquet together, potentially adding 20 million rubber bands to landfill every Mother’s Day.

Rubber bands take up to 50 years to biodegrade and can be incredibly harmful to the environment. If burned they release carcinogenic pollution into the atmosphere. Rubber bands can be dangerous for wildlife too, causing them to become tangled up and injured. And animals and birds can eat them and die.

Most sleeves for flower bouquets are made specifically from clear polypropylene film. This material can be recycled, but it’s unlikely local council collection services will take it. This means people can’t generally put it in household recycling bins.

Some retailers and large supermarkets may offer in-store recycling for soft plastics, which could include polypropylene film. However, availability can differ locally.

How can we reduce flower waste this Mother’s Day?

Choose sustainable packaging. Flowers wrapped in paper or reusable fabric avoids unnecessary plastic waste. Alternatively, potted plants over cut flowers can be a more sustainable option.

Avoid flower food sachets; these add further plastic waste. It’s best to avoid them altogether with a better option being to make plant food at home instead.

Avoid or reuse rubber bands – String or ribbon can be both an aesthetic and environmentally friendly way to hold together bouquets as opposed to rubber bands, but if bouquets do have elastic bands, it’s best to reuse them.

Mark Hall, waste management expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, commented on plastic waste:

Mother’s Day provides us with the opportunity to show gratitude to one of the most important people in our lives, but many don’t realise how the impact gifts can have on mother nature.

The plastic film used to wrap bouquets can be problematic as most councils are unlikely to collect it for recycling, meaning most of the 2.7 million m² of wrap is likely to head for landfill.

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This doesn’t mean consumers need to stop purchasing flowers, but we’d encourage them to stop and consider the packaging used, opting for the most sustainable option where possible.

We also believe it would be helpful for florists and retailers to work to provide takeback schemes for this type of plastic and ensure thorough signage and guidance is given.

The flower market has significant global transport factors and often poor conditions for workers. Maybe it’s time to think more creatively about how to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Featured image via the Canary

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I first wrote about slogan tees making a comeback way back in 2023, and since then the trend has only gotten bigger and stronger.

From Maura Higgins to Harry Styles to Pedro Pascal (who could forget last year’s Protect the Dolls t-shirt by Conner Ives?), the slogan tee shirt is absolutely everywhere.

Simple, comfortable, and inherently very effective at making whatever statement you want, the slogan tee isn’t a flash-in-the-pan micro-trend – it’s here to stay.

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The UAE-backed Rapid Support Force (RSF) has deliberately starved civilians in Sudan. Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab has found damning evidence against the genocidal paramilitary force. Their new report said RSF are guilty of “extraordinary cruelty.”

At least 41 communities have had their crops razed by RSF. As a result, patterns of life analysed through satellite imagery have diminished substantially.  This is part of what two legal scholars say is deliberate removal of the means to live by RSF.

Co-author professor Tom Dannenbaum told the Guardian:

The destruction of the villages, farming equipment and infrastructure all provide strong evidence of a “starvation strategy” against a population already struggling with food insecurity because of the war.

People were at the brink of starvation and objects indispensable to their survival were being destroyed.

He added was it is:

not merely the fact the villages had been attacked but the targeted destruction of livestock enclosures, as well as the forced displacement of the farmers, that led to reduced farming activity that suggested a deliberate attempt to prevent the villages from being able to produce food.

Report co-author professor Oona Hathaway said:

It’s evidence of extraordinary cruelty and the real horrors people have been facing.

Adding:

The report provides a unique level of fine-grained, over-time analysis documenting exactly what was attacked, going far beyond our general knowledge of the fighting … [it] is of a quality that could be submitted in a court for criminal prosecution.

Resource wars

An RSF drone attack killed “dozens” of civilians on 12 March on Kordofan, one of the most heavily affected provinces in the south of the country.

French outlet Le Monde said:

The Kordofan region, home to oil deposits, arable land and the RSF’s most powerful paramilitary allies, connects RSF strongholds in the Darfur region to the country’s army-controlled east. The RSF controls West Kordofan and has for months pushed eastwards in an attempt to recapture Sudan’s central corridor.

According to Sky News:

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent global monitor, has documented at least 198 drone strikes in Sudan launched by both sides in the first two months of 2026. At least 52 of them involved civilian casualties, killing 478 people.

Also in the southern provinces, a drone strike killed 17 schoolgirls and a group of medical workers. Associated Press said on 11 March:

The war-tracking Sudan Doctors Network reported the strike first, saying those killed included two teachers and a health care worker. The group said there was no military presence in the village.

Both the medical group and al-Majeri blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for the strike. The RSF didn’t respond to a request for comment.

But this war has a complex international dimension.

Colonial warfare

As the Canary has said in our previous coverage of this poorly-understood genocidal war:

The war in Sudan is theoretically between the Arab supremacist RSF and the Sudanese government. But foreign states pursuing their own interests are backing the combatants. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, backs the RSF with arms and equipment. Egypt backs the government, alongside Russia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Israel has backed both sides at different times.

The mounting death toll is similarly mindboggling:

RSF has killed Sudanese civilians in vast numbers. And some estimates say 150,000 people have died and over 10mn have been displaced by fighting.

The people of Sudan find themselves living – and dying – at a nexus of colonial interests.

As another genocide continues in Gaza, and the war against Iran by a rudderless alliance accelerates, the horrors in Sudan drift in and out of the news cycle. But the Canary means to keep reporting on this often-forgotten colonial atrocity.

Featured image via the Canary