<span style="color: #222222;">British food banks are seeing more families needing their support as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forces struggling people to seek help, charities and volunteers say.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Lockdowns and other measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus have forced businesses to close or lay off staff. The rise in those out of work has resulted in more people turning to food banks, which provide emergency food supplies to families in need.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The latest official figures last month showed Britains unemployment rate had risen to 4.8%, with employers laying off a record number of staff in the third quarter. The Bank of England has forecast the jobless rate would rise to nearly 8% by the middle of next year, despite the government extending an emergency jobs subsidy programme until the end of March.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Trussell Trust, which runs more than 1,300 food bank centres across Britain, says it provided 1.2 million food parcels between April and September, with a huge rise in people needing its support for the first time.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It forecasts there will be a 61% increase in food parcels required across its network from October to December, the equivalent of six parcels given out every minute.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">A government spokeswoman said they had announced a 400 million pound support package to help those in need for the winter and beyond, including millions for food aid charities.</span><br />''