Government’s own survey confirms shocking levels of food insecurity in the UK

A Government survey has laid bare the true scale of household food insecurity in the UK, revealing that more than four out of ten (43%) households in receipt of Universal Credit experience high or very high levels of household food insecurity.

This confirms what the Right To Food campaign has been saying since its inception – that the level of Universal Credit is simply too low.

The data was in the Family Resources Survey 2019/20, published by the Department for Work and Pensions on Thursday 25th March. It is worth noting that the survey asked only about people’s experiences in the 30 days prior to being interviewed; if they had been asked about the full year the number of food-insecure households would certainly have been far higher.

The research also shows that, even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, one in twelve of all UK households were experiencing low or extremely low levels of food security.

It is an indictment of successive Governments that welfare payments have been allowed to drop to such low levels that millions of families are left to worry whether their food will run out before they get money to buy more, are unable to afford balanced meals, must skip meals or are forced to eat less than they should because there is simply not enough money for food.

The Right to Food campaign has publicly called for the retention of the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit from September and this new report makes it clear that Government failure to do so will  only plunge millions of families further into hunger.

Now that it is equipped with this shocking data, it is time for Government to work with the Right To Food campaign to legislate for an end to food insecurity in the UK once and for all.   

Further details: https://www.church-poverty.org.uk/food-insecurity-now-we-have-the-data-its-time-to-act/

More on the Right To Food campaign: https://www.ianbyrne.org/righttofood-campaign