Last year the UK food bank network the Trussell Trust distributed almost 3 million emergency food parcels, 1 million of which were for children, up from 50,000 a decade ago.

How has the UK landed in such a severe hunger crisis – and can food banks ever be the solution?

In episode one of The End of Charity, journalist Lucinda Rouse hears from the Trussell Trust’s chief executive, Emma Revie, about the need to reimagine our social contract at a time when demand for charities is greater than ever.

And the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies traces the history of charity from its mediaeval and Victorian origins to its present state – where “something is fundamentally broken.” 

Read the transcript.

To listen to the uninterrupted series, subscribe to the End of Charity on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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