Help The Hungry: UK food crisis ‘escalating’ due to economic impact of lockdown, experts warn

‘The economic factors pushing people into food insecurity are only going to get worse,’ says Food Foundation chief

Food aid charities have warned of an “escalating” hunger crisis in the UK because of the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Job losses and falls in income are causing unprecedented levels of hardship, and experts have warned the need for emergency food packages could “spiral out of control” – despite the best efforts of volunteers to help all those in need.

The Independent’s Help The Hungry campaign is seeking to raise £10m for The Felix Project so the food surplus charity can provide food for NHS staff, the poor and elderly who are unable to afford supplies or remain stuck at home for health reasons.

A recent survey by The Food Foundation highlighted the necessity of the work and the alarming scale of food poverty. Three million people in the UK (6 per cent) said they or someone in their household had been unable to eat despite being hungry during the lockdown.

Anna Taylor, chief executive at The Food Foundation, said panic buying and supply chain problems may have eased in recent weeks – but the rise in unemployment would take a toll on household budgets.

“The economic factors pushing people into food insecurity are only going to get worse,” she said. “The stress many families are going through trying to put food on the table can be terrible. The stories we’re hearing about the desperate situations people are in … are really shocking and disturbing.”

Earlier this week the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, revealed that more than 1.5 million new claims have been made for universal credit since the start of the pandemic, and more than 4 million jobs have now been furloughed.

Dr Rachel Loopstra, a lecturer in nutrition at King’s College London, said the lockdown has already had “a swift and devastating impact” on people’s ability to get enough to eat, both because of financial hardship and the need to self-isolate.

She predicted widespread falls in income would intensify the level of hunger in the weeks ahead. “It’s bound to increase the level of food insecurity over the medium and longer term,” said Dr Loopstra. “There are plenty of people who have never faced this situation before. And people who were already on low incomes are likely to need more help on a regular basis.”

Felix Project volunteers are helping get food out to those in need (Nigel Howard)

Over the past month The Felix Project has seen demand for food skyrocket. In February, the food surplus charity was delivering enough food each day for just over 20,000 meals.

It is now able to provide 100,000 meals a day – thanks to the incredible response to the appeal launched with the Evening Standard, which has raised more than £3m.

Although some local food banks The Felix Project delivers to have been forced to close their doors, many of them have adapted to the crisis by delivering food parcels to the homes of people in need.

Sabine Goodwin, co-ordinator of the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), said some food banks had seen as much a 300 per cent increase in demand compared to this time last year.

“Lockdown may end in the coming weeks but the escalating poverty crisis is set to continue for many months to come,” she said.

IFAN, The Food Foundation and other campaign groups are calling for an end to the five-week wait for universal credit so people in dire need can get cash immediately. They would also like to see child benefit doubled and the overall cap on benefits removed.

“We need to ask if we want to live in a society where hundreds of thousands of people including a large proportion of children must rely on food charity to survive,” said Ms Goodwin.

“Unless the government takes action to reduce poverty levels by increasing benefit payments and enabling cash grants, this situation will continue to spiral out of control.”

The Independent is encouraging readers to help groups that are trying to feed the hungry during the crisis – find out how you can help here. Follow this link to donate to our campaign in London, in partnership with the Evening Standard.