The charity is urging new Prime Minister Liz Truss to address soaring living costs, which are leading to more people using food banks, in the emergency budget expected on 21 September.
A YouGov survey of people in receipt of Universal Credit during August 2022, found more than two million people had skipped meals across the previous three months to keep up with other essential costs. Around 38% of people said they’d gone a whole day with no food at all or just one meal, in the last month, because they couldn’t afford to buy enough food.
Emma Revie, chief executive at the Trussell Trust, said: “We are deeply concerned that 40% of people claiming Universal Credit are skipping meals, as winter approaches, and this is only going to get worse for people who already struggling to get by. It’s wrong that people are missing meals and are unable to afford to cook, because they are sick or disabled or caring for someone.
“The reality is that, instead of providing a lifeline when our circumstances change, financial support such as Universal Credit is leaving people – 41% of whom are working – without enough income to stay warm, fed and dry. It’s pushing people to the doors of food banks, and that’s simply not right. If people are to have enough money to live with dignity, we need strong systems that lift us out of hardship rather than plunging us deeper into poverty.
“The Government must act now to protect people from harm. This means at least doubling the additional support offered to people on the lowest incomes and rethinking the deductions from the very payments that are meant to help them. If you agree everyone should be able to afford life’s essentials, join us in calling for a stronger social security system that provides security every day, not just in times of national crisis.”
The Trussell Trust revealed that food banks in its network provided 50% more parcels to people across the UK in recent months, compared to before the pandemic. This means a parcel provided to someone facing hardship every 13 seconds.