Choice has made a fresh donation of £20,000 to assist the crucial work of Trussell which supports more than 1,400 food banks in the United Kingdom. Provided through its Tenant Support Fund, this brings our total financial support to the leading anti-food poverty organisation, since 2021, to nearly ninety thousand pounds.
New research carried out by Trussell, in conjunction with Ipsos, has confirmed that food insecurity in Northern Ireland has increased since 2022 and affects 1-in-5 households. The second ‘Hunger in Northern Ireland’ report also shows that last year 520,000 people, of which 130,000 were children, lived in food insecure households – a combined rise of 170,000.
It has also emerged that those in the most deprived areas were twice as likely to be food insecure (33%) than households in the least deprived parts (16%), while people’s dependence on food banks has remained unchanged between 2022 and 2024 at 7%, or 1 in 14 households. During the 2024/25 period, the number of Emergency Food Parcels distributed from over forty NI locations here totalled 77,000, almost two thousand of which were received by senior citizens.
“The work of Trussell remains absolutely essential in addressing the growing issue of food insecurity across Northern Ireland,” explained Carol Ervine, Choice’s Group Director of Tenant and Client Services. “At a time when one in five households are struggling to afford the basics and 130,000 children are living in food insecure homes, the need for targeted and compassionate support has never been more urgent. Choice is pleased to support this work.”
She added: “The continued generosity of Choice stands out as a powerful example of social responsibility in action. A donation of £20,000 will go a long way in helping Trussell and its community of food banks to deliver vital frontline services for those in most need.
“However, this partnership is not just about responding to crisis; it’s about investing in a future where no one is forced to rely on food banks to get by. We are proud to support and highlight the critical work of Trussell and hope others will be inspired to follow this example and take meaningful action to address poverty and inequality across Northern Ireland.”
Other strands of Trussell’s work to tackle – and eliminate – the need for food banks in the future include advocacy work that focuses on addressing the causes of food hunger, and petitioning government and policy makers for the solutions required to end the need for food emergency.
In its latest ‘Hunger in Northern Ireland’ report, Trussell says the use of charitable food provision only tells part of the story and is a symptom of a much broader problem, adding
that there are “worrying signs of a normalisation of severe hardship” across Northern Ireland.
Three in 5 people who experienced food insecurity chose not to turn to any form of charitable food provider in the last twelve months. The report found, while those people referred to food banks in the Trussell community last year had – on average – just £171 a week to get by on, nearly all people referred to food banks were in some type of debt or arrears (93%).
With this donation, food banks in the Trussell community were able to distribute 77,000 emergency food parcels containing a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced food to people facing hunger in the year to 31 March 2025, including over 30,000 parcels for children.
Miranda Beebe, Head of Food Bank Support at Trussell, said: “As an organisation that relies entirely upon voluntary income to support our community of food banks in Northern Ireland, we are incredibly grateful to Choice, for their generous £20,000 contribution. The need for emergency food is incredibly high, but as inflation continues to bite and fewer people can afford to donate to food banks, a shortfall in public donations has meant that food banks across Northern Ireland are purchasing more and more food to fill emergency parcels.
“Five years ago, food banks were buying 5% of the food that goes into an emergency parcel. This year, with rising costs and extremely high levels of need, food banks are buying around 24% of the food they need for parcels. That is why we are so grateful to Choice – for helping to ease this pressure and ensuring that food banks across Northern Ireland can meet incredibly high levels of need whilst providing a warm welcome, cup of tea, and holistic support to people in their hardest moments,” added Miranda.
