South Belfast has the highest daily use of foodbanks

Lily Kerr, the Party’s South Belfast representative, has highlighted the high level of dependency on foodbanks in the constituency and has called for  a strategic response to child poverty, lack of investment and health inequalities

Foodbanks                                      “South Belfast  has the highest daily average use of foodbanks in Northern Ireland – according to figures from the Trussel Trust the charity which operates the foodbank network.

This figure will almost certainly rise as a result of the cuts to benefits under the welfare reforms agreed by the Stormont Executive”, Lily said.

“While foodbanks bring much needed immediate relief for hungry people, there is a real danger that they will come to be seen as a normal response to hunger in Northern Ireland”, she added.

Investment and strategy                                                                                 “What is needed now”, said Lily, “is the introduction of the Living Wage, an overarching strategy to tackle child poverty , a public sector programme for building much needed affordable social  housing and investment in our health and social services to improve health  outcomes and tackle health inequalities.