Hunger in the UK shows – this is just the tip of the Iceberg

“Our latest and most in-depth study to date on hunger reveals its causes, impacts and who is affected,” announces ‘The Trussell Trust’.

This landmark research is also the first time we’ve been able to dive more deeply into the experience of hunger in the UK, with reports on Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

With record numbers of people across the country already forced to turn to food banks, our Hunger in the UK reports starkly reveal this is just the tip of the iceberg, with millions more struggling with hunger, but not yet reaching out for charity support.

Being forced to turn to a food bank to feed your family is a horrifying reality for too many people in the UK, but as Hunger in the UK shows, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Millions more people are struggling with hunger, say Emma Revie, chief executive, The Trussell Trust. This is not right. Food banks are not the answer when people are going without the essentials in one of the richest economies in the world. We need a social security system which provides protection and the dignity for people to cover their own essentials, such as food and bills.

That’s why, alongside the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, we’re calling on the UK government to guarantee our essentials and ensure that the basic rate of Universal Credit at least covers our core costs, such as food and bills.

Having no money leads to further issues, such as isolation, debt and health problems. Being forced to turn to a food bank to feed your family is a horrifying reality for too many people in the UK, but as Hunger in the UK shows, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The roadmap for ending the need for food banks demands change in multiple areas of policy – at the regional, national and UK level. This briefing sets out some areas of focus for policy makers and some specific policy changes that are needed across the different levels of government in the UK.

The Hunger in the UK research project is a multi-year mixed methods research programme delivered in partnership with Ipsos and food banks in the Trussell Trust network. The perspectives and participation of people who have needed to access emergency food has been integral to this research in not only understanding the problems that are driving food bank use, but also in crafting solutions to these problems.

…Poor, poor Britain – there is no one to rob in the World. So British go starve themselves. The Irony of History…

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