New research finds almost 1.5 million people face hunger across the South East
The survey finds that children aged 0-5 are growing up in more than one in four (26%) households which have received emergency food from a food bank in the Trussell community in the last year.
Almost 1.5 million people face hunger across the South East, with paid employment no longer protecting people, new research finds
The research by The Trussell Trust estimates that almost 1.5 million people in the South East faced hunger in the past year due to lack of money.
In Trussell’s ‘Hunger in the UK’ report it also reveals one in eight (12%) people in the South East live in food insecure households,
Over a third (39%) of people referred to food banks in the Trussell community in the South East of England are in work – showing paid employment no longer protects people from severe hardship
The charity warns that severe hardship is being ‘normalised’ as millions of people in the UK are facing hunger without turning to a food bank or charitable food provider, and going without essentials like food or heating as a routine part of life
Trussell is calling on the UK government to urgently strengthen social security and deliver on its manifesto commitment to end the need for emergency food
Trussell’s analysis estimates that, across the South East in 2024, almost 1.5 million people (1,490,000), including 390,000 children, faced hunger due to a lack of money. That’s the equivalent of one in ten households and more than the entire population of Hampshire.
Cass Francis, comms and campaigns coordinator at Southend Foodbank, said: “The South East has a reputation for being an affluent part of the UK, but the number of people we see at our foodbank sessions each week tells the real story; there are multiple areas of deprivation across Southend and the need for food parcels here remains at record-breaking levels.
“Unless you have experienced ongoing financial insecurity yourself, or directly know someone facing it, it can be hard to imagine the toll it takes on your mind, body, and spirit; the unseen struggles of trying to juggle finances that just don't cover even the barest of essentials."