The Red Cross has issued a million shopping vouchers since 2020 to help people who are struggling to buy food and the number is rising, it has said.

The aid organisation started the scheme during the pandemic when many people lost their income because of the lockdowns, such as taxi drivers and people working in retail.

“We helped people then thinking that the numbers would go down after the pandemic was over but what we are seeing is that many more people need it,” Red Cross spokeswoman Nicole van Batenburg told NOS Radio 1 Journaal. “Inflation keeps rising, energy bills are higher and that means less money for food shopping,” she said.

The voucher is for people who do not qualify for food banks because their income is too high, or because they do not have a tax number or can’t find their way around the various services.

“We are there for people who are in danger of falling between the cracks,” Van Batenburg said.

The Red Cross puts a weekly €21.50 on the electronic vouchers, which people can use in supermarkets and street markets. The exact number of people who rely on the vouchers is not known.

“If you hand out a million vouchers you do know you have helped a million individuals who need help to buy food. And we know from research that at least 450,000 people in the Netherlands are living in hidden food poverty. So we are helping a large number of them,” Van Batenburg said.