Candice is diabetic so skipping meals carries a health risk. A few weeks ago, as the final pennies of her universal credit drained out of her bank account, Candice gave the last of her food to her eight-year-old daughter and tried to make it to dinner without eating. By mid-afternoon, the 32-year-old single mother from south London was in trouble.
“I had a headache and I felt dizzy and light-headed,” she said. “My eyes started rolling to the back of my head. I felt like I was going to pass out. My daughter had never seen me like that and she was worried, so we walked to Croydon University Hospital. At A&E they gave me food and water and said I was dehydrated and that my medication requires three meals a day. I already knew that, but since I lost my job as an elderly-care support worker during Covid and with prices shooting up, I can’t afford it.”
