Record numbers facing hunger & hardship. Set to increase without urgent action
Shocking new research out today from Trussell and WPI Economics: https://trusselltrustprod.prod.acquia-sites.com/sites/default/files/2024-10/Cost%20of%20Hunger%20and%20Hardship_Interim%20report.pdf
Record 9.3 million people in the UK are experiencing hunger and hardship. 6.3 million adults. 3 million children. That's 1 in 7 people overall. 1 in 5 children.
The highest number in the last 20 years and a rise of a third. Over just the last 5 years, the rate of hunger and hardship has increased significantly - a million more people now face hunger and hardship than in 2019/20.
Without urgent action from the UK government, these numbers are set to increase with an additional 425,000 people expected to be facing hunger and hardship by 2026/27.
The research looks at the number of people who are already cutting back on essentials or needing to turn to food banks for support, and people who may in part be cutting back already and are at high risk of increasingly going without essentials or needing to turn to a food bank.
Groups most affected: young children, larger families, disabled people, renters, people from black and ethnic minority groups. (Some lovely charts below).
Social security should protect us from this, but it's failing: four in ten (39%) people living in families claiming Universal Credit face hunger and hardship – over 2.5 times the rate for all people across the UK.
Benefit deductions make this much much worse:
But we have policy tools to hand to start turning back this tide. Updating our social security system and ensuring people get the support they're entitled to can reduce these figures very significantly. In order to meet its commitment to end the need for emergency food the government has to focus on this group facing hunger and hardship. And it has to start now.
Looking at the groups most affected:
Young children:
Single people (with and without children):
Ethnic minority groups:
Renters:
Hi, I have been running a Community Fridge since Jan 2023, and we are open twice a week. I have watched the numbers increase drastically. We support families with food parcels as well for those who are not entitled to food bank vouchers. We serve up to 70 people per session. I have spoken to many people about how they cannot get to the Fridge due to opening times and don't qualify for universal credit top-ups. It's a very difficult situation. I run a cost of living support drop-in session every week to try to help people. Would gratefully receive any advice or insights from other communities.
Lecturer (PT)
2moShocking figures.
Passionate leader with 35 years experience delivering quality services in complex environments. Qualified Social Worker. Mountaineering Instructor with a specialist interest in inclusion and tackling social disadvantage.
2moThat makes for shocking reading Helen.