A Powys food bank worker has said the UK Government needs to take further action to support food banks, after reporting a one-third rise in people getting in touch with the service last month.

Carol Gordon, 61, of Ystradgynlais food bank, has said that Westminster government officials are out of touch with the plight that food bank users face.

This comes following a 33 per cent increase in the amount of people that requested the help of the food bank from July to August.

The 61-year-old said: “I feel like the politicians in Westminster don’t understand what it is like to live like that.

“I think that they have the general thought that the people who use food banks are uneducated and are alcoholics and drug users - when in reality we are seeing young people who have degrees coming in crying and confused as to how they have ended up here.”

“I would like to see the politicians come in and spend a week in a food bank and see the people who are suicidal and in tears,” said Carol.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys, Matthew Dorrance, said that Powys County Council is doing the best it can to support the food bank amid the cost of living crisis, but called for the government in Westminster to do more.

“Powys County Council has been able to offer some help, thanks to Welsh Government funding, which has enabled us to develop a cost of living support scheme.

“The Scheme has put in place one-off funding for food banks and families, but it is action from the UK Government that is woefully lacking,” said Councillor Dorrance.

While the 61-year-old did admit that the grants from the Welsh Government were helping the food bank support people in need, she did state that they were still lacking the means to help all who required aid.

Carol said: “We rely on donations from the public, and Welsh Government grants which help us a lot, but from what people are telling us when they come in, people are really struggling.

“We can give vouchers for people to go to the local butchers and get meat, we can give people a voucher to help with their school uniform, but the vouchers are limited, so we have to assess the people who we feel are most in need.”

Carol also took aim at the current benefits system - claiming that the system needed re-evaluating if they are truly going to support food bank users.

“They need to look at the benefits system and it needs to be more efficient as people are waiting for months for support.

“We are finding most of our clients are already with benefit agencies and that is still not enough, on top of this, we are still seeing an increase in the people that are coming in with employment, and an increase in first- time users who are ashamed and embarrassed.”

“They need to be dealing with the cause of the problem and not just sticking a plaster over it,” said Carol.

If you would like to donate food to the Ystradgynlais Food Bank, you can do so by going to the food donation point at the Ystradgynlais Tesco, Wind Road, Ystradgynlais, Swansea SA9 1AD.