Boy, 14, taken to hospital after 'passing out from hunger' at London food bank

A 14-year-old boy reportedly fainted from hunger while waiting for food at a south west London food bank, the centre's owner said. The boy was taken to hospital after he passed out and hit his head. The owner of Earlsfield Foodbank in Wandsworth, described what happened on Twitter.

She added: "Stark choices - eating vs heating, cutting every other meal - have already been made this winter. We've already seen children sleeping in coats, people coming to us literally starving, with very little support available. "There is no road left to run. No safety net or cushion available. And after yesterday's spring statement, it will only get much worse. We are desperately worried about what comes next. Those who have the least are already suffering the most. How can we tolerate this?" Figures show an increase in food bank use across the capital since the Covid pandemic began.

From 2020 to 2021, over 420,000 people used a foodbank in London alone - which is an increase of nearly 200,000 from the year before. The boy is understood to be recovering well at home.