One in seven adults estimated to be food-insecure, up 57% from January, owing to rising cost of living
Food banks say people are requesting food that does not need to be cooked or stored in a fridge or freezer.Food banks say people are requesting food that does not need to be cooked or stored in a fridge or freezer.
However, while many reported missing out on meals or eating irregularly during the first months of the pandemic because of food scarcity caused by panic buying and supply problems, the latest increase is put down to rising costs and poverty. Prof Sir Michael Marmot, a public health expert at University College London, said: “If one household in seven is food insecure, society is failing in a fundamental way. These figures on food insecurity are all the more chilling because the problem is soluble, but far from being solved it is getting worse.”
On the food poverty frontline, charities are warning that demand for food is rising as budgets get tighter. Ellen-Scarlett Ryan, ofin Worksop, said it supplied 24 households with food parcels on the day after Easter last month, way ahead of its previous record of 16.