London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 23, 2025

Food banks warn surge in demand will prevent feeding hungriest this winter

Food banks warn surge in demand will prevent feeding hungriest this winter

Exclusive: Nearly 70% of providers say they may need to turn people away or shrink the size of emergency rations
Food banks across Britain have warned of a “completely unsustainable” surge in demand that will prevent them feeding the hungriest families this winter.

Organisations representing 169 food banks told the Guardian the number of people seeking emergency help had already grown “dramatically” and predicted “bleak and disturbing” weeks ahead.

Of the 169 providers, nearly 70% said they may need to turn people away or shrink the size of emergency rations this winter. Almost three-quarters said food donation levels had dropped since April, despite the spiralling demand.

The warning came amid alarming new forecasts about spiralling inflation, with pressure growing on Liz Truss, Boris Johnson’s likely successor as prime minister, to give some indication of how she intends to deal with the cost of living emergency.

Figures published on Wednesday show shop prices rose by a record 5.1% in August as the war in Ukraine raised costs for farmers.

The shop price inflation was led by a 10.5% rise in fresh food prices, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium and market research firm NielsenIQ. That’s the highest rate since September 2008, when the global financial system was on the brink of collapse.

The US investment bank Goldman Sachs also warned on Tuesday that inflation in the UK could top 22% next year, close to the post-war record set in 1975, if wholesale energy prices remain at current high levels, heaping more pressure on households and businesses.

In one glimmer of hope, UK gas prices dropped by more than 20% on Tuesday, amid reports that efforts to fill European gas storage before the winter appear to be ahead of schedule.

However, while prices eased from near record highs, they are still 12 times higher than before the energy crisis began, and neither Truss nor her leadership rival, Rishi Sunak, have set out how they intend to mitigate the crisis for millions of people this autumn and winter.

The shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “When even food banks are warning they may need to shut up shop this winter because they can’t meet the demand, we know the country is heading for a catastrophe without action.

“Families and pensioners are beyond desperate for real help now. Labour would freeze energy bills but instead we have Boris Johnson on a vanity tour, the chancellor on a New York jolly, and Liz Truss hiding from scrutiny because she has no answers to this crisis whatsoever.”

In the survey by the Independent Food Aid Network UK (Ifan UK), nearly 90% of the organisations representing 169 food banks said demand had risen since April and 87% said they had been hit with supply issues.

One in five had already reduced the size of food parcels and more than half of the charities had already had to dip into their limited cash reserves to bulk out food parcels.

Kirkcaldy Foodbank in Scotland said it had a deficit of £56,000 in the first half of 2022 due to rising food prices and plummeting donations, as those who usually give to food banks are themselves cutting back.

It said: “This situation is completely unsustainable, and we have begun to take steps to limit the support that we can provide.

“We have real fears about what lies ahead – both for the people who need our help and for our ability to meet those increased needs.”

Su Parrish, of the Easter Team charity in Crawley, said she feared they would see “poor mental health spiralling and potentially suicides as a result of the stress and distress people are now experiencing”.

The poll was conducted before the regulator Ofgem announced the energy price cap would increase by 80% from October. The decision will take the average gas and electricity bill from £1,971 to £3,549 a year and may push millions of homes into fuel poverty.

Simon Lellow, operations manager of Telford Crisis Support, said the cost of living crisis was a “clear and present danger” to many people in the Shropshire town.

He said: “The effects are already deepening the existing issues surrounding poverty and the need for food banks and other charitable welfare support services.

“With the most recent energy price increases, rate of inflation and lack of countermeasures, the outlook for the final quarter of the year is bleak and disturbing.”

Ifan UK, which supports more than 550 food banks across the country, has urged the government to introduce “urgent, cash first interventions” to ensure people can afford to put food on the table and heat their homes this winter.

Truss has pledged to make £30bn in tax reductions if she replaces Johnson as prime minister in a vote of Tory members next week.

She is also said to be considering increasing the personal allowance, the level at which people start paying tax, and exploring VAT cuts of up to 5 percentage points.

Truss has previously ruled out giving “handouts” and her allies have said any support package would be unlikely to include one-off payments – raising concern that her measures will not help those who need it most.

Sonya Antoniou-Pamment, of the south-west London-based charity Olive Branch Aid, said: “Like many organisations we know that the coming months as winter begins to bite will be the hardest one yet for many. We also know that our volunteers will find it difficult as we will only have resources to be able to help a fraction of the people we are expecting to see in difficulties this winter.”

Sabine Goodwin, a co-ordinator of Ifan UK, said relying on overburdened food banks was “unconscionable and unsustainable”. ​​ She said: “It’s for the government to ensure the basic needs of its citizens are met, not food aid charities buckling under the strain.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
×