UK Programmes

This proposition paper outlines the devastating effects of the cost of living crisis on millions of households in the UK and what Action Against Hunger is doing to combat it.

Times are tough in the UK and getting tougher. We are all dealing with higher utility bills. The cost of fuel has gone through the roof.

Food prices have gone up too. And it looks like they are going to keep rising for some time to come. If you have a job that pays a decent wage you can get by. You may need to cut back, but you can ride it out.

But today, a growing number of people in the UK can’t get by. Daily they must make painful decisions – do I eat today or pay my council tax bill? Do I put a fiver on the electric key meter or spend the money getting a bus for my hospital appointment? Do I get my children’s shoes repaired so they can go and play with their friends? Or do I use the money to feed them?

Having no food and no money means you have no control and no say over your life. It affects your physical health and your emotional wellbeing.

Hunger in the UK is not new. But, in the modern age, the levels of hunger are. In the past two years the cost-of-living crisis and Covid have dragged more people into poverty and hunger.