A third of families skip meals daily due to rising costs in the UK

A recent survey by The Trussell Trust charity group, in partnership with food delivery platform Deliveroo, has found that one in ten parents in the UK are “very likely” to turn to a food bank for support.

The research by the food delivery platform and the charity was released as they announced a new partnership to provide up to two million meals and support for people facing hunger across the country. Deliveroo will enable customers to add a round-up donation to their in-app food orders, with all proceeds going to the Trussell Trust’s food banks. Deliveroo employees will also volunteer for the charity.

As well as one in 10 parents stating they were “very likely” to need help with food, around nine in 10 said they were now paying more for their weekly shop, following soaring prices and continuing inflation in the country. The Archbishop of Canterbury even addressed this problem during his Easter Sunday sermon, stating that “families across the country are waking up to cold homes and empty stomachs as we face the greatest cost of living crisis we have known in our lifetimes.”

The poll also showed that a third of families are having to skip meals because of rising costs, while one in five has resorted to eating cold food to keep energy bills down, and more than half have cut back on heating as a result of a rise in their household bills.

In addition to this, the survey found that a third of parents skipped at least one meal to keep up with other costs, while 20 percent said they had been unable to cook hot food at least once in the past three months because of the cost of using an oven.

“Everyone should be able to afford their own food, but as families face the biggest income squeeze in a generation, people are telling us they’re having to make impossible decisions between heating and eating and being forced to turn to food banks to feed themselves,” Emma Revie, the chief executive of the food bank charity, said. “Our new partnership with Deliveroo will help us support food banks to provide emergency food and in-food-bank support to thousands of people in immediate crisis while we work towards our long-term vision of a future where nobody needs to turn to charity to get by.”

“Supporting people facing hardship has never been more important. I am pleased we are partnering with the Trussell Trust to support local food banks across the country,” said Will Shu, CEO and founder of Deliveroo. “We’re committed to using our platform to play a positive role in the communities in which we operate. Together with our consumers, our amazing restaurant and grocery partners and our network of riders, we want to play our part in helping to tackle food insecurity in the UK.”