'Unprecedented' demand for food help during school holidays
The Salvation Army says it's getting referrals from teachers, GPs and health visitors
A charity says there is "unprecedented" demand from families for assistance with food during school holidays.
The Salvation Army says it has seen a growing number of children referred to it by teachers, health visitors and GPs.
Based in more than 600 locations in the UK, the church and charity is expecting to provide thousands of cooked meals and food parcels to children during the Summer.
Carol McKean, one of the charity's community managers in Norfolk, said she had constantly heard the phrase "I've never had to claim benefits before" from anxious parents "who look broken asking for help".
"I know that, for these people, we are the last resort. They really are short of food for their kids, and some are saying they haven't eaten for a couple of days so their kids can eat," she said.
One mother from Swindon, who had fled an abusive relationship, said that as her children did not have school meals during the holidays, "all day long they are telling me they're hungry".
"Though my children are entitled to food vouchers, the amount has been halved despite prices going up," she added.
"I've worked out I am £165 short every month, and that's just for my bills. I'll go several times a week without a main dinner and just having beans on toast for breakfast. I don't care about myself as long as my children eat."
The charity's Lieutenant Colonel Dean Pallant said: "When I hear Salvation Army officers report that 'people are on the bones of their knees' and they have seen children who are 'anorexically thin' it sounds like something from 1865, when the Salvation Army was founded, not 2022."
He added that emergency payments from Government to help poorer households with rising energy bills would bring "some desperately needed relief" but "short-term measures only provide a temporary sticking plaster on a long-term crisis".
"To protect people from sinking further into poverty over time we are calling for all benefits intended to help people on low incomes to keep up with inflation," he said.
"We have already seen a surge in demand at our food banks since the start of the cost-of-living crisis. We are now braced to feed more children than ever over the next few weeks."
The Salvation Army has also called for existing universal credit debt to be covered by the Government's 60-day Breathing Space scheme, expansion of free childcare so parents can afford to work, and a new cross-Government taskforce to tackle the underlying causes of poverty.
Cost of living crisis:
Interest rates and inflation go up
Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.
Energy bills
The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.
Food prices
The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.
Prices at the pumps
The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.
Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100
On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.
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