Food bank demand for items to eat cold ‘mind blowing’, says Jack Monroe

Volunteers from a charity prepare meals in a London community food hub earlier this month as the cost of living crisis intensified. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP

Jack Monroe, the writer and campaigner, has described as “mind blowing” the rising number of food bank users who are asking for items that can be eaten cold because they can’t afford to heat them.

Monroe, a former food bank user who campaigns against poverty and publishes recipes that can be made on a tight budget, said cold foods were becoming a lifeline for families who could not afford to turn on the hob.