The Trussell Trust: Solving UK's Hunger Crisis

This report highlights The Trussell Trust, a major NGO and charitable organization in the UK that actively partners with more than 1200 food banks to serve emergency food suppliers to the needy people of UK while campaigning and spreading major awareness regarding the structural and societal issues which is pushing people into poverty in the UK. It includes their story, major operations, vision, mission, objectives, funding mechanism, and current challenges. The report also provides strategic recommendations for the NGO to better serve the people of UK.

Community enterprise

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Organization overview...........................................................................................................3
Vision, values, aims and objectives........................................................................................5
The funding of The Trussell Trust..........................................................................................6
Key challenges and opportunities...........................................................................................8
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
.........................................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In the modern world where capitalistic frameworks and the hyper competitive markets
drive the way forward for both people and businesses, the resultant difference in income
distribution and exploitation leaves many people vulnerable. The role of NGO's and charitable
bodies is paramount in this environment as they help spread awareness among people regarding
critical social issues and make them knowledgeable about their rights and they also help the
needy in any way possible as rampant poverty has deemed a large section of people living in the
world unable to render and afford the most basic of goods and services (Lyndon, 2019). This
report will highlight one of the most major NGO and charity body of UK, The Trussell Trust and
highlight their story and major operations, their vision, mission, objectives and the current
challenges that they face in regards of solving UK's rising poverty and resultant hunger issues
which is gripping the population especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report
will also include strategic recommendations for the NGO in order to enable it to better serve the
people of UK which have been subjected to a vicious hunger crisis.
MAIN BODY
Organization overview
When it comes to poverty and less than ideal living conditions. The UK's current societal
landscape is experiencing tough times as the statistics regarding poor conditions of life are
increasing and this is evident from the fact that almost one in three children that are born in the
country live in poverty. There is also rampant difference in income due to the capitalistic cycle
which makes the rich richer while the poor keep being kicked to the curb while being unable to
fend for themselves (Duffyand Gillberg, 2018). This has also resulted in major issues related to
hunger wherein people cannot afford even one half decent meal throughout the day and this
effect has been multiplied by the pandemic which has put a lot of people in the bracket of
poverty inadvertently and has worsened the condition of the poor by a wide margin as they were
unable to fend themselves properly from the virus. Due to the constant lock downs by the British
government and the massive damage to the corporate ecosystem by the coronavirus, reports have
showcased that more than 1.5 million people went through the day without eating a single meal
during the initial onset of the pandemic which indicated a severe hunger crisis.

This is where The Trussell Trust comes in as it is a major NGO and charitable
organization originating in UK that actively partners with more than 1200 food banks which
comprises of an extensive network which the trust uses to serve emergency food suppliers to the
needy people of UK while campaigning and spreading major awareness regarding the structural
and societal issues which is pushing people into poverty in the UK. The trust was founded in
1997 by Carol and Peddy Henderson due to the inspiration they took from the legacy of Carol's
mother, Betty Trussell and one of the first social work that the trust undertook back then was to
improve the living conditions for the children that were sleeping at the Central Railway station in
Bulgaria (Our story, 2022). Upon getting a call from a mother in the 2000 who complained about
her children going to bed hungry and her poor living conditions after which Paddy did a detailed
research on the poverty conditions in UK which resulted in her opening Salisbury Food bank in
her garage and garden shed. After a period of 20 long years of social work, this small food bank
in her garden shed has become a major NGO of UK solving hunger issues all over the country by
partnering with more than a thousand food banks and it runs a variety of programmes which are
listed herein.
 Providing emergency food donations to the people in need which mostly consists of non-
perishable food donated by the public at places such as churches and supermarkets after
which the more than 28000 volunteers of the company sort them into parcels for crisis
delivery
 Supply of food bank vouchers to the people in need of food which is usually done by
school staff and care professionals
 The trust also runs programmes to help people break free from their personal cycle of
poverty to break their dependence on NGO's and food banks
The NGO's major growth in the latest years has made it their mission to help people
suffering from hunger issues in the UK but they also do social work and charity on a
multinational scale through its partner organization, FSCI (Foundation For Social Change and
Inclusion) which aims at preventing modern slavery and instil better life and working conditions
for people in Bulgaria and south-east Europe. The organization is making rapid waves in the
field of emergency food assistance and employs a wide network of 28000 volunteers actively
working to aid people in need (Spoor, 2020).

Vision, values, aims and objectives
The major long term vision which the NGO is working towards actively to achieve is to
envision and empower the people of UK to an extent where the need for food banks is eradicated
from the country. To empower this vision, the organization incorporates a core set of integral
values in all their social work and campaigns which are listed herein.
 Compassion – The NGO strives to protect the dignity and self respect of the people who
are dependent on food banks for their needs and they also prioritize the needs of such
people (Vision and values, 2022)
 Justice – The NGO also upholds the view that the current society of UK is biased and
unjust and under no circumstances should there be people who cannot afford their basic
essentials
 Community – The NGO prioritizes partnerships and standards of collaboration to protect
the interests of all poverty stricken communities at large
 Dignity – The NGO pays due importance to the innate needs, desire and self respect of
the people it partners with, provides services to and employs irrespective of their
background to eliminate bias
The main aims that the NGO seeks to fulfil with its wide network of food banks are also
listed underneath.
 Providing timely food parcels and rations to people in need of meals in an emergency or
crisis situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic
 Aiming to make long term changes to the structural and societal processes of UK which
has resulted in such rampant poverty
 Conducting regular research and analysis in the field of poverty and hunger crisis in UK
to study the data and patterns affecting such poor life conditions and to find potential
solutions Providing additional support such as job providing and financially helping people who
are in dire straits and promote financial in-dependency by getting rid of the factors which
is making the poor stay poor (Additional Support, 2022)

The NGO's major objectives are built around their strategic goals and the approach they
take towards conducting their social work related operations and their vision of creating change
is built around three distinct areas which are listed herein.
 Changing communities – One of the major strategies of the NGO involves around
providing food banks with the help they need to cope with the local demand and help
them in way possible to perform community service and help in a streamlined manner.
They also help communities further by working on projects that can help increase their
income (Our Strategic Goals, 2022)
 Changing policies – The Trussell trust also works closely with the anti-poverty
organizations and analysed the number of food parcels to figure out the reasons behind
the rampant rise of hunger and poverty in the country. This information is used by the
NGO to propose changes and advocate for policy changes in the UK politics to eradicate
poverty.
 Changing minds – Another major aspect of the goals and objectives of the NGO include
spreading major public awareness regarding people's rights and to build a positive
community which shares the values of the NGO to build a better network of volunteers
and social workers to reach more people in need of help and food.
The funding of The Trussell Trust
The scale at which The Trussell trust operates their social work and food bank network is
quite extensive which is why their funding needs and expenditure has also risen in the past years
along with their income. The large section of the funding which is received by the NGO
comprises of either individual or corporate donations, fund raising campaigns and appeals along
with partnership with companies and social service providers. Some of the major funding that the
NGO receives are from the following trusts and organizations.
 Pears foundation – One of the most major funding partners of The Trussell trust is the
Pears foundation which identified the need to assist the people of UK all the way back in
2007 when the Trussell Trust food bank network was at its inception The foundation has
invested more than 1.5 million pounds till date for the purpose of income maximisation
which is aimed at impacting the destitution existing in the UK society by helping raise
the income level of groups suffering from intense property.

 L&Q foundation – This foundation is one of the biggest charitable housing associations
in the UK and their mission is of providing safe homes and neighbourhoods for
underprivileged and homeless people driven by the social responsibility to help poor
people live a respectable and independent lives. The foundation partnered with the
Trussell trust after its housing residents started suffering from hunger issues which led to
the launch of an official project which supports Trussell Trust's London Food bank
development fund (Funding Partners, 2022). This support helps the food banks of the
trust to increase their supply capabilities and storage capabilities of food rations along
with increasing their efficiency to provide help to the people in need.
Apart from these partnerships and funding which have tremendous impact on the hunger
crisis being relieved in the country by a small margin, there are many campaigns that are ran by
the trust which also have considerable impact on the population of UK, some of which are listed
herein.
 #5WEEKSTOOLONG – This campaign by the NGO is aimed to direct backlash and
apply asocial pressure on the 5 week duration for receiving universal credit which is way
too long for people who are deprived of their basic needs
 Keep the lifeline – This campaign was formed by The Trussell trust to reverse the
biggest overnight cut to the social welfare and security since the second world war as on
October 21st, 2021, the UK government cut $20 a week from the collective pockets of
millions of low income policies. Trussell Trust is using its food bank network to not only
support these families but applying pressure to the government to undo this wrong
practice at the same time
 The true cost of living – UK is facing major troubles with the soaring coasts related to
housing food and energy which has made many families having their financial burden
increased. The Trussell trust is actively supporting people belonging to the lowest income
level who are being forced to quit their essentials to support their children due to this
continuous increase in price (Cowan, 2020)

Key challenges and opportunities
After conducting the SWOT and PESTLE analysis of The Trussell Trust to thoroughly
analyse both the internal and external environment of the NGO, it is clear that despite working
for a nobler cause and becoming extremely good in helping people afford basic essentials of life,
the organization still has major challenges in front of it which are listed herein.
 The COVID-19 pandemic has not only stressed the internal working of the NGO but it
has also put major stress on their food bank network
 The amount of people thrown under the bus by the pandemic has increased dependency
on food banks which the NGO is struggling to cope with
 The social image of the NGO has also been damaged in the light of the Deliveroo deal
(Trussell Trust slammed over deal with Deliveroo, 2022)
At the same time there are also some market opportunities that the NGO can take
advantages of which include taking the help of established corporates for increasing their
efficiency along with using new digital technological integrations to help expand the reach of
their network.
RECOMMENDATIONS
From the intensive research which has been conducted on the The Trussell Trust and the
current situation of UK in terms of hunger and poverty, the following recommendations have
been listed for the NGO.
Short term – The NGO should immediately devise measures for its food banks to cope with
increase in demand using fundraising methods and entering into deals or partnerships with major
corporates and retailers
Medium term – The NGO should review its partnership with Deliveroo, make sure that all the
entities involved in their food bank network are practising strict ethical sourcing of products and
also make sure that any partnership it enters in is with a completely ethical organization to
improve its social image
Long term – The NGO should adopt usage of cutting edge Information Technology systems to
increase the efficiency of their food banks. They should also establish digital channels of Food
bank services through mobile applications to make the reach of their service to far corners of UK

CONCLUSION
The above report went into detail regarding the complexities involved in undertaking
social service and charity on a large scale in the UK where the mishandling of the economy in
the light of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic has led to major increase in both public hunger
and poverty. The report included key discussions on the operations, impacts and vision of major
NGO's in UK along with their funding mechanism and it also included the internal and external
analysis of these organizations to highlight their scope for opportunities and weaknesses. The
report was concluded with short and long term recommendations to provide better food service
to the needy people and UK and it was identified that strategic partnerships and technological
innovation is the way forward to help more people.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Caraher, M. and Furey, S., 2019. Are food banks merely a sticking plaster for food poverty?.
Cowan, N., 2020. Poverty Alliance submission to Equalities & Human Rights Committee
inquiry into the impact of Covid.
Duffy, S. and Gillberg, C., 2018. Extreme poverty in a time of austerity: Submission to UN
Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.
Lyndon, S., 2019. Troubling discourses of poverty in early childhood in the UK. Children &
Society, 33(6), pp.602-609.
Spoor, E., 2020. Trussell Trust data briefing on mid-year statistics relating to use of food banks–
April to September 2020.
Online referencing
Our story, 2022 [online] available through
<https://www.trusselltrust.org/about/our-story/#:~:text=The%20Trussell%20Trust%20is
%20founded,Central%20Railway%20Station%20in%20Bulgaria.>
Vision and values, 2022 [online] available through<https://www.trusselltrust.org/about/vision-
and-values/>
Funding Partners, 2022 [online] available through
<https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-involved/funding-partners/>
Our Strategic Goals, 2022 [online] available through <https://www.trusselltrust.org/about/our-
strategic-plan/our-strategic-goals/>
Trussell Trust slammed over deal with Deliveroo, 2022 [online] available through
<https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20081956.trussell-trust-slammed-deal-deliveroo/>
Additional Support, 2022 [online] available through <https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-
do/more-than-food/>

APPENDIX
SWOT Analysis of The Trussell Trust
Strengths
 A extensive network of food banks
with more than 1200 operating ones
 Massive goodwill and positive public
perception due to social efforts during
the pandemic
Weaknesses
 The NGO has been unprepared for the
rampant increase in poverty due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
 Food banks of UK are collapsing under
the guise of increased demand
Opportunities
 Many businesses and retail supermarket
chains have shown willingness to
partner with trusts to aid their social
activities
 Building a healthier food inventory and
expanding community volunteer
numbers can help sustain the demand
Threats
 The level of poverty and hunger in UK
has shown no signs of stopping anytime
soon
 Experts have predicted a shortage of
food inn the future in the light of the
pandemic which can stress the food
banks of Trussell Trust even further
PESTLE Analysis of The Trussell Trust
Political – The political landscape of UK has been in a state of turmoil due to getting disrupted
by serious events such as the COVID-`19 pandemic and the Brexit which has thrown millions of
people into poverty. The Trussell Trust sine 2014 has seeked to pressure and analyse the steps
that the government takes to counter poverty and it has published multiple reports asking for
structural reforms. The food bank network of the NGO is regularly used by the government for
providing help and administrating social services.
Economic – One of the reasons why Trussell Trust's food banks are facing increased demand
and struggling to cope with it is due to the UK government's poor handling of the economy in the

wake of the pandemic. The rising cost of living and inflation are rapidly contributing to the
hunger crisis in the country.
Social – Although the firm has been appreciated by the masses for their efforts in the pandemic,
the NGO has taken steps which has resulted in them getting slammed as well such as their
strategic partnership with Deliveroo which has previously come under fire for using zero hour
contracts.
Technological – The amount of food bank dependence people are increasing in UK and it only
through technological innovations that the NGO can take their food bank networks on the next
level in terms of their efficiency. The NGO has to look for ways to further digitize their
operations as there are many people who need food bank assistance while they are at work but
also be vary of not falling to the barriers which the 'going digital' policies have placed on the
underprivileged people who are often times technologically illiterate.
Legal – The NGO must work to clean its legal image as well as it has been accused of being
involved with conservative parties for their propaganda spreading and the organization has also
failed to address the religious aspects of their service as such large scale social work is often
connected with principles of Christianity which is violation of several laws (Caraher and Furey,
2019).
Environmental – The growing damage to the environment of UK has also contributed to the
poverty and hunger levels which the NGO needs to work towards minimizing. The same
research that goes into analysing governmental policies should also go into policing the
sustainability measures of corporates as UK's corporate landscape is far from sustainable.