FOODBANKS are bracing themselves for the busiest Christmas yet this December, the Trussell Trust has warned.

The charity, which runs a network of foodbanks across Britain, is calling on the next government to work towards a a situation in which everyone has enough money for basic needs.

December was the busiest month for foodbanks in the Trust’s network last year, with more than 186,000 three-day emergency food parcels provided to people in crisis.

About 78,500 of these parcels went to children, according to Trussell Trust data.

The figure was 44 per cent higher than the monthly average for the 2018-2019 financial year, the charity said.

Between April and September 2019, over 823,000 parcels were given to people in crisis — making it the busiest half-year period since the charity opened, with a 23-per-cent increase from the same six-month period in 2018.

Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie said: “It’s not right that anyone should have to use a foodbank at any time of year — not just at Christmas.

“Our next government must start working towards a future where no one needs a food bank. It’s not inevitable that every Christmas we hear stories about families needing food banks.

“It’s in our power to reach a future where everyone has enough money for the basics. This can change.”

Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery said: “While so many of us will enjoy indulging over the Christmas period, it is a total scandal that more families than ever will be relying on food handouts just to save them from going hungry.

“The appalling rise in foodbank use reflects the cruelty of Tory austerity.

“Boris Johnson’s born-to-rule Conservatives don’t seem to care that, when they sit down for their Christmas dinners, hundreds of thousands of families will be relying on the kindness of strangers just to survive. This is not inevitable.”

Labour has vowed to halve foodbank usage within a year in government and remove the need altogether in three years.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions claimed that universal credit supports more than 2.5 million people across Britain.