Chris Mould

Edwina Currie is wrong about food banks

The Trussell Trust would like to correct the following inaccuracies and misleading statements made in Edwina Currie’s recent blog, and wishes to make readers aware that Edwina Currie has never spoken to The Trussell Trust, and has not sought to verify any of her assertions with us.

A response to ‘Food banks aren’t solving problems — they can make things worse too’

The Trussell Trust started Salisbury foodbank in 2000 and has been running it ever since.

The Trussell Trust started the UK foodbank network, a social franchise, in 2004. All foodbanks in The Trussell Trust’s network operate to a common system, adhering to agreed policies.

All Trussell Trust foodbanks share their data with The Trussell Trust head office using an online data collection system, enabling the Trust to report data trends and figures for all foodbanks in its network – hence we were able to report the 170 percent increase in numbers helped by Trussell Trust foodbanks last year.

The Trussell Trust does far more than ‘merely advise churches and community groups on how to [run a foodbank]’: this statement displays total ignorance about how The Trussell Trust network operates.

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