The single mother from West Belfast said she didn't know that "children will be fed" without a food bank.

This is the annual data released by anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust shows that the number of emergency food packages distributed in Northern Ireland in the past year has increased by 71% compared to five years ago.

The data show that over the past year, food banks have provided more than 77,000 packages to people in Northern Ireland “faced with hunger”. This is equivalent to "one package every seven minutes," the charity said.

Deirdre, a mother of two, said the food bank was a "lifeline" for her.

Deirdre said she has worked since she was 15 and has three jobs to get herself to college, but turned to food bank after “having to quit my career job.”

"It's embarrassing," she said.

She once donated money to food banks and then asked them for help.

"I hardly knew where I would be one of them," she said.

"It's in a stage in my life where I don't know what to do."

Trussell's figures show that "a lot" of parents "work hard to bear what they have to bear".

Since 2019/20, households with children needing emergency food have increased by 68%, and parcels have increased by 47% to support children under the age of five.

Many food banks are reporting “serious hardships” with some parents distributing their food as raising children, the charity said.

Although the organization's total emergency food packages have decreased compared to the previous year, they said "there is still a high demand for emergency food".

Deirdre said people were not aware that “the poor working still needed food banks.”

“No one knows what they are going to face.

"No one knows if you're going to lose your job. No one knows if your mental health will change. No one knows you're going to get you into the arena where you're going to have to take advantage of the food bank."

Deirdre added that she was "really not surprised" by the number of people who rely on food banks and call on policy makers to do something.

There shouldn't be "demand from food banks" she said, adding that charities are "relieving slack" for the government.

“All of these decisions people have about cuts… are made by people who haven’t experienced what we have,” she said.

"I don't know how kids without food banks will feed them".

"I'm too embarrassed to find relatives."

Without this help, Deirdre said: "I might make sure they're OK and I don't."

“This is the distinct reality of the society we live in today.”

Fiona Cole, policy manager for Northern Ireland in Trussels, said: “The entire generation has grown up in a country where the ongoing demand for food banks feels like the norm.

“This should be a loud voice to the government.”

“We urgently need Northern Ireland executives to achieve the primitive ambitions of anti-poverty strategy.”

She added: “Unless it has harmful policy options for disability benefits, support for children and housing support, the Westminster government will not be able to improve living standards.”

Ken Scott, manager of Bangor Foodbank and community support, said: “Our food banks are seeing too many people being forced to need our help.

“Food donations are not keeping up with the level of demand we are seeing, which puts us under a lot of pressure.

"It's wrong for anyone to be forced to seek emergency food from charities," he added.

Deirdre said the reason people go to food banks is "not because we have poor funds. It's not because we can't budget. It's because we have insufficient budget."

“The general credibility is not enough to live.”