Local charity worried people can't afford to eat healthily
63% of people said they couldn't afford to buy the food they needed
Last updated 19th Jan 2023
A local charity is worried that people now can't afford to eat healthily as the cost of living crisis continues.
Foodcycle, which has sites in Gloucester, Swindon and Bath, believe demand for their services is growing as people struggle to be able to eat.
They run warm spaces for people to meet, socialise, and also eat when they otherwise wouldn't.
They use excess and donated foods to make meals for people who need them.
Lucy Self from the charity says, "We had one woman say she worries whether she's going to put on her kettle, or if she's going to eat. For people to sit around together and talk about that, whilst others are going through it, is just as vital as the food that we are serving"
They say that many people want to feed their family as nutritiously as possible, but that many reach for cheaper processed food in order to save money.
The charity is also finding problems sourcing food, because there's less surplus goods around. Lucy goes on to say, "We actually find there is less food around, and one things we are then having to do as a charity is to buy food ourselves in some places. There are lots of knock on affects to what is happening"
It comes as a new survey by consumer group, Which?, has found that the prices of some food on the shelves has risen by 30% year on year, in December.
Milk was 26.3% more expensive than a year before, while cheese (22.3%), bakery items (19.5%), water (18.6%) and savoury pies, pastries and quiches (18.5%) also saw higher-than-average price increases.
Among the worst examples of inflation over the three months to the end of December included Utterly Butterly 500g, up from £1 to £1.95 across several supermarkets, Waitrose Duchy Organic Homogenised Semi-Skimmed Milk (1 pint/568ml) rising 87.1% from 65p to £1.22, and Creamfields French Brie 200g at Tesco up 81.6% from 79p to £1.43.