Thousands more households are turning to the UK’s food banks for the first time as the cost-of-living crisis deepens, new research shows. According to a survey by community giving platform Neighbourly and Aldi - which work together to distribute surplus food from the supermarket’s stores – almost all food banks (99%) have seen a surge in demand since the start of the year.
Neighbourly recently polled more than 700 food banks and community causes nationwide and found that an estimated one third of people (33%) using these services in recent months had been new to the food banks and never in this position before. On average, food banks reported an average rise in demand of around 31% for their services so far this year, with expectations of a similar (35%) increase in the next three months as higher energy bills and an increase in national insurance contributions add to the pressure.
In particular, food banks estimate that demand for food provision rises by around a third during the school holidays, with 89% saying they have capacity to take more donations of food with the Easter school holidays approaching. Aldi will be supporting charities, community groups and food banks throughout the UK by donating almost 250,000 meals to people in need during the Easter school holidays.
