Peterborough Foodbank has called for urgent action to tackle hardship amid a surge in the number of food parcels it distributes.

Volunteers and staff, alongside people with lived experience of needing support, churches, local charities and partners joined forces ahead of the General Election last week to call on politicians to prioritise urgent action to reduce hardship. 

Election candidates were invited to visit the foodbank to read the community’s messages and support a call for change. 

In the last two years alone, Peterborough Foodbank has witnessed a 38 per cent increase in the number of emergency food parcels distributed. 

The activity was repeated at food banks up and down the UK, as communities came together to demonstrate the scale of hardship across the country and the growing consensus for change.

It comes as the Trussell Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation calls on politicians to take urgent steps to reduce hardship in the UK, alongside a long-term plan to ensure no one needs a food bank to survive.

This includes urgent reform of social security, working towards an 'Essentials Guarantee' designed to protect those in receipt of Universal Credit from going without essentials.

Sharon Keogh of Peterborough Foodbank said: "Our tablecloths tell Peterborough’s unique story. We wanted to show the impact that hardship is having on our community, and we have created tablecloths at all our foodbank centres with messages showing how urgently change is needed.

"We continue to see families on the lowest incomes seeking support from Peterborough foodbank who cannot afford the basics for their children such as food, school uniforms and pay their bills."