Shocking figures released by End Hunger UK on 30 January, provide a glimpse of the extent of hidden hunger in the UK.
The campaign – a coalition of food poverty organisations which include the United Reformed Church (URC) – is urging the government to start measuring food insecurity across the UK.
The figures show 16% of adults either skipping or seeing someone in their household skipping meals, 14% worrying about not having enough food to eat, and 8% going a whole day without eating because of lack of money in the last 12 months.
‘These figures showing the extent of hidden hunger in the UK should concern all of us,’ said Simeon Mitchell, the URC’s Secretary for Church and Society.
‘They back up the experiences of the many churches and church members who are involved in foodbanks, which have seen sharp rises in demand. We need to ask why, in one of the wealthiest nations of the world, growing numbers of families are unable to afford regular meals. These findings should act as a wake-up call for policymakers and a prompt for more concerted action to measure and address food insecurity in this country.’
From 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, 1,182,954 three-day emergency food supplies were given to people in crisis across the UK compared to 1,109,309 the previous year. Of this number, 436,938 went to children, according to data provided by The Trussell Trust – Britain’s largest foodbank network.
But foodbank figures do not capture people who rely on friends and family or discount food to get by.
To address the issue in parliament, Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields, has created a 10-minute Rule Bill which asks the government to start measuring food insecurity across the UK.
The bill has its second reading in the House of Commons on 2 February.
‘Now is the time for the government to sit up and tackle the growing issue of hunger in our country,’ she said. ‘Whilst the government has carried out snapshot measures of food insecurity, these are piecemeal and don’t allow for assessment of long-term trends.’
The MP called the figures provided by the Trussell Trust ‘the tip of the iceberg’.
‘The United Nations has estimated over 8 million people in the UK are food insecure,’ she continued. ‘Approximately 2000 foodbanks and foodbank centres are in operation, rising levels of hospital admissions, due to malnutrition, cost the NHS £12bn per year, and there are record levels of in-work poverty.
‘Without a robust system of household food insecurity measurement in place, making policy to mitigate hunger will never become a reality. It is clear [the] time for action is now and urgent.’
Picture: End Hunger UK
