The manager of a food bank in County Fermanagh has said they have enough money for “two months of running costs” before they run out, while another in west Belfast has had to “significantly reduce” the sizes of their parcels.
According to the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity, some food banks are having pay for 30-50% of the food they are supplying.
Enniskillen Foodbank said their ongoing expenses were continuing and donations were “not keeping pace” with project manager Paul Dickson describing it as it a “bleak situation”.
Edel Diamond from South West Belfast Foodbank on the Stewartstown Road said they were struggling with stock which was “really upsetting because you’ve got families coming to you that aren’t really coping”.
Enniskillen Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust network which can provide support for another three months.
“That isn’t enough to last a year,” Dickson told Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme.
“It’s brilliant to get that [support from the trust] but…we need to create network of relationships locally that help make food banks sustainable.”
He added that he noticed a drop in donations given to supermarkets but understood that things were becoming more expensive.
“Part of the Trussell ethos is that we don’t believe that we should be needed, but unfortunately, we are needed at the minute and we need to be here for the people that rely on us.”
Fiona Cole, from Trussell Trust in Northern Ireland, said it was “heartbreaking” to see food banks in this situation, adding the stress on food bank managers and volunteers is increasing on a daily basis.
According to the Trussell Trust, 67,851 parcels were distributed in Northern Ireland, 26,459 of those given to children in 2025.
The policy and public affairs manager said in the last four to six weeks, food banks had faced a crisis in terms of stock levels.
“Our biggest fear is that our food banks are prematurely forced to drastically reduce their support, or worse, close their doors because the income they receive falls short and they can no longer afford their household essentials,” Cole said.
She said that fewer donations could be a result of people struggling with cost of living and having to cut their own budgets.
“Our lifelong contributors, they would give us £5 of food or £10 of food every time they go to shop in a supermarket,” Cole said.
“That £10 of food is just simply not the same amount as what you would have got even six months ago.”
She said three food banks had contacted them directly about concerns with stock and finance, and six in total had to put out emergency appeals for donations on social media.
She added food banks had also had to close distribution centres or reduce their hours.
Cole said there needed to be sustainable funding for food banks to operate as well as support from government and the Northern Assembly.
While food banks are under pressure a Trussell Trust report found that they had been distributing fewer parcels in 2025 than the peak seen in 2023.
“Wider data suggests there has been a corresponding fall in need for food banks, not just use, external“.
