Food banks 'in crisis' amid fears some may have to close

Food banks 'in crisis' amid fears some may have to close

Paul Dickson is project manager of the Enniskillen Food bank

The manager of a food bank in County Fermanagh has said they have enough money for "two months of running costs" before they run out, while another one in West Belfast has had to "significantly reduce" the sizes of their parcels.

According to the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity, some food banks are having to pay for 30-50% of the food they are supplying.

Enniskillen Foodbank said their "ongoing expenses are continuing and donations are not keeping pace", with project manager Paul Dickson describing it as a "bleak situation".

Edel Diamond from South-West Belfast Foodbank on the Stewartstown Road said they are struggling with stock, which is "really upsetting because you've got families coming to you that aren't really coping".

Enniskillen Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust network, which can provide support for another three months.

"That isn't enough to last a year," Dickson told Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"It's brilliant to get that [support from the trust] but...we need to create network of relationships locally that help make foodbanks sustainable."

He added that he had noticed a drop in donations given to supermarkets but understood that things are becoming more expensive.

"Part of the Trussell ethos is that we don't believe that we should be needed, but unfortunately, we are needed at the minute and we need to be here for the people that rely on us."

Edel Diamond said that while she is thankful they are not having to turn people away, it was distressing.

"It seems to me like one cost-of-living crisis is just rolling into another and it doesn't seem to have gone away," she said.

She added that the rising energy costs have a knock-on effect on charities.

"We're not just a food bank, we are places of comfort for people, places where people can come and find that hope," Diamond said.

"We want to see the end for the need for food banks, but at this immediate time we are in crisis and we're urgently appealing for donations of food and finance."

Fiona Cole, from Trussell Trust in Northern Ireland, said it was "heartbreaking" to see food banks in this situation, adding that the stress on food bank managers and volunteers is increasing on a daily basis.

According to the Trussell Trust, 67,851 parcels were distributed in Northern Ireland, 26,459 of those given to children in 2025.

The policy and public affairs manager said that in the last four to six weeks food banks have faced a crisis in terms of stock levels.

"Our biggest fear is that our food banks are prematurely forced to drastically reduce their support, or worse, close their doors because the income they receive falls short and they can no longer afford their household essentials," Cole said.

She said that fewer donations could be a result of people struggling with cost of living and having to cut their own budgets.

"Our lifelong contributors, they would give us five pounds of food or £10 of food every time they go to shop in a supermarket," Cole said.

"That £10 of food is just simply not the same amount as what you would have got even six months ago."

She said three food banks had contacted them directly about concerns with stock and finance, and six in total had to put out emergency appeals for donations on social media.

She added food banks have also had to close distribution centres or reduce their hours.

Cole said there needs to be sustainable funding for food banks to operate as well as support from government and the Northern Assembly.

While food banks are under pressure, a Trussell Trust report found that they had been distributing fewer parcels in 2025 than the peak seen in 2023.

"Wider data suggests there has been a corresponding fall in need for food banks, not just use