One in seven people in UK going hungry amid cost of living crisis

One in seven people in the UK are going hungry because they can’t afford spiralling food costs, new research suggests.

Disabled people, single parents and those living alone are the worst affected, food bank charity Trussell Trust has warned, and people are distancing themselves from family and friends because of the costs of meeting up.

An estimated 11.3 million people faced hunger in the past year – more than double Scotland’s population – the charity which runs more than 1,200 food banks in the UK found.

Shadow secretary of state for work and pensions Jonathan Ashworth said the figures were a “devastating reflection” on the Conservative government.

Researchers also conducted interviews with 50 people who used their food banks last year. A 50-year-old single mother-of-two said she had to seek help because she only had a single tin of beans left in her cupboard.

“My daughter was saying. ‘Mum, have we got to have beans again? Can’t we have this? Can’t we have that?’... I’ve failed my family because I couldn’t feed them properly.”

Another interviewee said that she didn’t turn on the lights in her home so she could save some money. “I’ve got a little battery-powered torch next to my bed, so I have that on to read at night. We used to watch a bit of telly in the evening, but I don’t really tend to put that on anymore.”

An estimated 7 per cent of the UK population is estimated to be dependent on charities for food, with disabled people, ethnic minorities, single parents, carers and those who have spent time in the care system worst affected.

The number of people in Britain being pushed further into poverty has risen, according to research from the think tank Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Experts in international development have also warned that the UK is becoming increasingly reliant on food banks.

Source: The Independent

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