11.3 million UK citizens faced hunger in 2022, study reveals

The United Kingdom is the world's sixth economy, but one study done by The Trussell Trust that over 11.3 million people went hungry in the United Kingdom in 2022.

The Guardian reported back in February 2023 that more people than ever depend on food banks all over the United Kingdom, according to a report published by the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN).

The IFAN research reveals that 90% of surveyed food banks reported an increased demand between December 2022 and January 2023, in contrast with last year.

More worrying, half of the organizations that took part in the study warned that if demand continued to grow they would be forced to cut support or turn people away.

Image: Aaron Doucett / Unsplash

The Guardian cites The Trussell Trust, UK’s biggest provider with over 1,300 food banks, claiming that they are at a “breaking point”.

According to The Trussell Trust, they have been delivering more than twice the emergency food parcels than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, The Guardian highlights that data posted in February by the Office of National Statistics shows that the cost of living is still high despite the easing of inflationary pressures.

From 2022 to 2023, for example, food inflation in the UK went up by 16% as gas prices soared 130% more than they were 12 months before.

At the same time, the Office of Budget Responsibility published a forecast in November last year showing that household disposable income in Britain would fall by 4.3%.

This is the most dramatic decrease in disposable income in the UK since the study began in 1956.

Among those in the workforce seeking assistance from food banks, The Guardian writes, are teachers and NHS workers.

Meanwhile, pensioners and families with babies are the groups that have grown more dependent on food aid.

IFAN coordinator Sabine Goodwin was quoted by The Guardian accusing the British government of “unsustainable and unethical” reliance on charity food programs.

“It’s very clear that people have been trying to muddle through the winter on credit and are now building up debts that will push people over the edge,” commented Goodwin.

To top it all, there’s an ongoing NHS strike with nurses, ambulance workers, and other medical professionals demanding higher wages.

Many healthcare workers on strike currently depend on programs such as food banks while the protests continue.

The big question is what will Prime Minister Rishi Sunak do as Great Britain face all these problems.