Food poverty continues to be at crisis levels, report shows

The call comes as a Food Foundation report, released as part of the #EndChildFoodPoverty campaign spearheaded by Marcus Rashford, shows that the problem of household food insecurity continues to be at crisis levels.

The research reveals that food insecurity remains higher than pre-Covid levels affecting an estimated 4.7 million adults (9% of households) over the past six months, compared to pre-Covid levels of 7.6%.

The report shows 55% of those experiencing food insecurity – around 2.5 million adults – said it was because they did not have enough money for food, 31% said it was due to isolation, 23% said it was lack of access and supply, and 8% cited other reasons in the past six months.

In addition, the study shows households with children have higher levels of food insecurity compared to those without. An estimated 2.3 million children live in households that have experienced food insecurity in the past 6 months. The situation is even worse in households with children on Free School Meals, with 41% reporting food insecurity in the past six months.

The report finds the proportion of children on free school meals who said they or their families had visited a food bank (32%) was 10 times higher than those not on free school meals (3%).

In the past six months, 14% of food sector workers experienced food insecurity compared with 9% of non-food sector workers, the research shows.

Three key recommendations made by the Food Foundation’s report are:

1. An urgent review of Free School Meals: prioritising ensuring the eligibility threshold does not exclude any disadvantaged children from accessing a healthy meal.
2. Businesses should pay at least the Real Living Wage and the government should make the £20 Universal credit uplift permanent.
3. Designate authority in government to be responsible for monitoring and tackling food insecurity.

Anna Taylor, executive director of Food Foundation, said: “We should now move to a longer-term package of support for food-insecure households and away from emergency measures. Making the £20 uplift to Universal credit permanent is a vital part of this package, as is extending Free School Meals to all children in food-insecure households. The long-term effects of food insecurity on mental and physical health mean that children can’t wait.”

Emma Thompson, ambassador of Children’s Right2Food Campaign, added: “In the sixth richest economy in the world these figures speak for themselves.   There is absolutely no need for any child to go hungry in the UK. The fact that they are and in increasing numbers suggests cracks in a broken food system that can and must be repaired as a matter of the utmost urgency. Apart from the moral duty we owe to children, this is a severe public health problem.”