The Cost-of-Living Crisis Forcing Adults To Skip Meals
The cost-of-living crisis has become a pressing issue with a significant number of adults facing financial hardships. Adults are now being forced to miss meals to pay for other bills.
With no sign of the cost-of-living crisis coming to an end, it has now been revealed that one in four adults are skipping meals.
A YouGov and Christians Against Poverty (CAP) poll of 2,200 adults revealed that 14.7 million (or 28% of) UK adults avoided eating to save on costs during the summer.
The YouGov and CAP poll unearthed disturbing statistics regarding the frequency of meal-skipping among UK adults.
The survey found that 11.3 million people, equivalent to 21% of the population, skip meals on a weekly basis. These individuals are forced to make difficult choices due to the financial strain caused by the rising cost of living.
The impact of the cost-of-living crisis goes beyond mere financial struggles. The poll revealed that one in ten individuals agree that the increased cost of living has made life not worth living.
CAP’s director of external affairs, Gareth McNab, said: “Poverty in our communities is getting worse – it’s devastating the lives of millions of people across the UK and that’s why we need to listen to the people experiencing it.”
Father of three, Rodney, told the charity: “I used to have my own building business and my own home, but when my marriage broke down and a knee operation left me disabled, I lost it all.
“I was left as a single parent, skipping meals to make sure the kids had enough, but even then, I didn’t have enough to put the heating on during winter.”
McNab added: “Poverty doesn’t have to define who someone is, nor affect how they are treated by society.
“But too often, the brutal realities of everyday life on incomes too low for even the basics are compounded by the stigma, silence and shame from wider society. Nobody should be facing these injustices.”
Food banks in Grimsby, Boston, Skegness, Lincoln and Scunthorpe are seeing record numbers of people come to them for food support.
A foodbank charity which operates across Lincolnshire and Newark is predicting a bleak future with an increase demand for food parcels.
The Trussell Trust network is expecting to provide more than one million emergency food parcels between December 2023 and February 2024.
Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “We don’t want to spend every winter saying things at food banks are getting worse, but they are. Food banks are not the answer in the long term, but while we continue to fight for the change that could mean they can be closed for good your local food bank urgently needs your support.
“They need donations of food for emergency parcels, and money to fund costs such as the purchasing of food to meet the shortfall in donations they are currently experiencing.”
People are struggling on a daily basis. As well as struggling to feed families, some families have reported they are behind on the electric and gas bills.
Reports have also found that more than 3 million people have missed mortgage payments putting their homes at risk.
With the rising fuel bills, mortgage rates, and food bills, record numbers of adults are now being forced to move back in with their parents.
Some of those adults are married with children and are living cramped conditions to survive.
With wages not keeping up with inflation, and the lack of support by the Government, experts are predicting it is going to get a lot worse before things start to get better.