Families increasingly stressed and cutting back on food amid costs crisis

Poverty has caused headaches and insomnia for parents, poll finds

Families may struggle to put food on the table three times every week (Getty Images)

One in five low-income households are not regularly sitting down for dinner together, because they can’t afford to.

A poll of 1,050 families who collectively earned below £25,000 a year found they worried about not having enough food at home as often as three times a week.

Almost four in 10 (39 per cent) said the worry about putting meals on the table every day had caused them incredible amounts of stress.

More than six in 10 (63 per cent) said they prioritised cost over quality when food shopping due to the cost of living crisis, while two-thirds would cook more family meals if they had more money and 57 per cent would if they had extra time.

The research was commissioned by Crockpot in conjunction with the FareShare charity.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare’s chief executive, said: “The research shows that many families are not eating together due to worries about cost and we know that the rise in the cost of living means more people will be turning to local charities this winter.

“The food we provide does not just alleviate hunger, eating meals together helps people build relationships and tackles issues such as loneliness and mental well-being.”

The research went on to find fear of not having enough food had caused 47 per cent respondents general anxiety, headaches for 44 per cent and had given 37 per cent insomnia.

As many as 52 per cent claimed to have gone hungry in order to feed their children.

Almost half (47 per cent) had started making simpler meals with fewer ingredients to save money. Steps included cutting out meat (43 per cent) and switching to cheaper brands and products (40 per cent).

Furthermore, 45 per cent said they could not stretch their money to cover good quality food, as 58 per cent lived payday to payday without any emergency savings.

When shopping, 47 per cent could not buy as many fresh ingredients as they used to, with fresh fish, meat and vegetables the most avoided due to their cost.