ANTI-POVERTY campaigners in Bolton have welcomed an inquiry into the rise in people turning to food banks to feed their families.

The study, conducted by MPs across the political spectrum and church leaders, blamed delays in benefit payments, rising energy bills and a reduction of incomes as reasons why people need emergency support.

Their calls for quicker payment of benefits, the extension of free school meals and a living wage to reduce hunger, have been backed by a Bolton foodbank.

Now, chief executive of food bank Urban Outreach Dave Bagley has urged ministers to take action to address the causes of poverty, and look to other potential causes.

He said: “We have found that there are many reasons why people might come to us, beyond those that MPs said in this study.

“In Bolton there is a problem with people on zero-hour contracts who suddenly find their hours are cut, and doorstep loans which see people struggling to cope with spiralling debt.

“We also still have high unemployment.

“Government ministers need to not just look at the causes of poverty, but also the effects it has, especially from a human perspective.

“We need to stop this judgement when we say people are poor — there is a feeling that people have made the wrong choices, or are on benefits because they chosen not to work, and that is the reason they are poor. It is not fair.”

In August The Bolton News reported how Urban Outreach was giving free packed lunches to hundreds of children who would normally be in receipt of free school meals.

Cllr Kate Lewis, the member in charge of Bolton Council’s anti-poverty strategy, said such initiatives back up the findings in the MPs report.

She added: “There are increasing numbers of people who are either on sanctions, or have had their benefits payments delayed as they transfer from one benefit to another.

“While the DWP is dealing with claims, people have literally nothing to live on.

“We work really closely with the two main foodbanks in Bolton, especially Urban Outreach, and we put quite a bit of money from the anti-poverty pot into the foodbanks to help them deal with the pressures they are under.

“There’s something structurally wrong with the system, when not having your benefit for two weeks means you don’t have enough money to buy food.”