HUNGRY Bradford families are being pushed "over the abyss" by cruel Government policies, a damning report by a group of MPs warns today.

A landmark investigation - backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury - condemns the explosion in food bank use in the city and elsewhere and demands radical change.

In just six months this year, Bradford Central Foodbank, in Jermyn Street, delivered a staggering 21,996 emergency meals.

And the number of people receiving a three-day aid package has grown to 2,444 between April and September this year, compared with 748 in the same period in 2012.

Bradford Metropolitan Foodbank reported a 450 per cent increase in demand between 2011 and 2013. It currently hands out 800 food parcels a month and gave out 1,000 in August.

Food coordinator Ken Leach said: "The benefits system has changed over recent years, and that has been one of the reasons behind the increase.

"We're giving out more than 10,000 parcels a year now, and there is always a need for more donations."

Frances Atkins, assistant food coordinator, said demand had risen ten-fold since she started volunteering for the charity around three years ago.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of families using our services, as opposed to single people, which is a very worrying trend, especially as we head into winter.

"Supermarkets are very important, as there is food thrown away that is perfectly edible.

"We have to work very hard to ensure there is enough food to meet the demand."

Now the cross-party study has called for an end to harsh and incompetent benefits policies, as well as action on “rip-off” utility bills imposed on poorer people.

It also demands an end to the "scandal of the subsidised destruction of edible food", pointing out that just two percent of edible waste is made available to charities.

Frank Field, the former Labour minister who set up the inquiry, said: "When we look at our constituencies, there’s clear evidence that something terribly disturbing is happening."

Mr Field attacked the department for work and pensions (DWP), saying: "They are unable to deliver benefits quickly and accurately, so they take ten, 11, 12, 13 weeks to process."

And he rejected ministerial claims that more people are using food banks simply because they are there, saying: "People are near the abyss, and a small event can push them over the abyss."

The study, called Feeding Britain: A blueprint for Abolishing Hunger makes a series of recommendations, including that the DWP deliver benefits within five working days; an end to Government subsidies for the food industry to destroy 4.3m tonnes of food every year – with just two per cent given to charities; action to stop poorer people being "clobbered" by water meters, prepayment meters and higher-rate phone numbers for public bodies; consideration of extending free school meals to children of low-income parents who are disqualified because they work and the introduction of the higher ‘living wage’ in sectors where it can clearly be afforded.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury will introduce the report at a Westminster event today - to ensure it doesn’t "lie on a shelf", Mr Field said.

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