Since the credit crunch of 2008, the number of food banks has soared.

Even in Kingston, one of the wealthiest London boroughs, the number of emergency food packages handed out has doubled since the food bank’s first full year in 2012-13, and is still on the rise.

But now, volunteers fear the system is open to abuse. 

According to Feeding Britain, a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger in the United Kingdom, there are now more than 400 Trussell Trust-run food banks in the country, up from fewer than 50 in 2008-09, the year of the global financial crash.

Contributors to the report included MPs from across the political spectrum, as well as church leaders.

Tim Thornton, Bishop of Truro, wrote: “The rise in the use of food banks does indicate a deeper problem in our society; the ‘glue’ that used to be there is no longer there in many instances.”

But he also said he witnessed “some of the worst aspects of human nature” in people who tried to abuse “any system that is put in place”.

Volunteers at Kingston foodbank say demand for emergency food already appears higher than ever this year, but add that outside agencies – numbering in the dozens and including GP surgeries and children’s centres – are often pressured by people into handing out more vouchers than they should.

Food banks like Kingston’s nominally give out only three emergency packages per person in a six-month period, and people in need are given trackable vouchers with serial numbers.

Volunteer Chris Steer said: “Sometimes the agencies don’t balance it up.

“We wouldn’t front that up here, we would front that up with the agency.”

Volunteers err on the side of caution, she added, rather than risk not giving food to someone who genuinely needs help.

Another volunteer said: “We get so frustrated. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. We’re actually not doing people any favours.”

The Feeding Britain authors are looking beyond simply handing out food, however, calling for a “foodbank plus” network to support and advise people.

They also rage against waste on the part of retailers and manufacturers.

They said: “Our anger knows no bounds that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of perfectly edible food which is euphemistically termed ‘surplus’, is destroyed at a substantial cost, when it, alone, could eliminate hunger in our society.”