Welfare cuts and the economic downturn send soaring numbers of people to soup kitchens and food banks across Europe

CHARLOTTE MCDONALD-GIBSON BRUSSELS FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER 2013

The Red Cross will this winter start collecting and distributing food aid to the needy in Britain for the first time since the Second World War, as welfare cuts and the economic downturn send soaring numbers of people to soup kitchens and food banks across Europe.

In what could be the start of an increased role in Britain for the Geneva-based charity best known for its work in disaster zones, its volunteers will be mobilised to go into supermarkets across the country at the end of November and ask shoppers to donate dry goods. The British Red Cross will then help FareShare, a charity working with the Trussell Trust and Tesco, distribute the packets and tins to food banks nationwide.

Britain is just one of many countries where families are struggling to put food on the table. In a report released today into the devastating humanitarian impact of Europe’s financial crisis, the Red Cross recorded a 75 per cent increase in the number of people relying on their food aid over the last three years. At least 43 million people across the Continent are not getting enough to eat each day and 120 million are at risk of poverty.

Red Cross officials called on European governments to try and find new ways to address to the crisis, as austerity programmes plunge millions into poverty and hunger.

“While we fully understand that governments need to save money, we strongly advise against indiscriminate cuts in public health and social welfare, as it may cost more in the long run,” said Bekele Geleta, the Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

In May charities revealed that more than half a million Britons are now turning to food banks, with that number expected to have increased over the summer. Many charities and opposition politicians say government cuts to welfare have made the situation worse, with families struggling to make ends meet with the rising prices, the economic downturn and a benefits squeeze.

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