According to research around 7 million people are said to be going hungry in the UK, including up to 2 million children. Research suggests by next month almost half of all children will be living in families who will be unable to meet the cost of some basic necessities.
A major survey of more than 1,200 charities and community groups found:
- 90% of the organisations say their services have been affected in some way by the cost-of-living crisis.
- 71% ‘moderately’ or ‘severely’ affected.
- 75% have seen an increase in demand for their services over the past year.
- 87% provide vital wrap around care services as well as food. These services include support with unemployment or low income, homelessness, family break up and abuse, mental health issues and addiction.
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare, commented: “Our survey of our charity network illustrates the impact that price rises, and the cost-of-living crisis is having on communities across the UK. With predictions that inflation is set to rise yet further, the ongoing impact that the conflict in Ukraine is having and expected tax rises, it’s clear that many families – who faced furlough and uncertainty during the pandemic, are now experiencing added difficult hardship.
“Demand for our food is as high as it’s ever been. That’s why we’ve launched our new campaign, Running on Empty, to highlight the difficult circumstances that many families are facing across the UK and are calling for more support for those struggling to feed themselves, and more donations of food from across the food industry to help meet that need.”
If you are interested in donating to the #RunningOnEmpty campaign, visit here.