One in six people in the UK not confident they can afford to feed their families

One in six British people are not confident that they are able to afford to put food on the table for their families, according to a new poll.

A YouGov survey of 1,717 adults taken in October found that a third of the public are less confident that they can afford food than they were this time last year. 17% of people asked overall said that they were currently either "not very confident" or "not at all confident" that they can provide food for their household.

11% of people admitted that they are "much less confident" about putting food on the table this year compared to last amid the cost of living crisis. Young adults were found to be the most concerned, with only half of 18 to 24-year-olds saying that they are confident they can afford the food they need.

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9% of people asked in the YouGov survey said that they had used a food bank at some point in their life - 60% of these had visited one in the past 12 months. According to the poll, 22% of the public believe that they are more likely to need a food bank now than they were this time last year.

Of those who have used food banks, 14% were aged 18 to 24 compared to just 3% of over-65s. The same poll indicated that 14% of Britons, or one in seven, have had to borrow money to afford their food bills over the past year.

The survey comes days after the British Retail Consortium recorded that food inflation leapt to a record 11.6% last month. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics said food and drink were 14.5% higher year-on-year.

A Newcastle foodbank recently revealed that it is handing out more than 2,000 food parcels each month for the first time as it sees demand soar. Newcastle West End Foodbank said that it distributed 2,019 parcels in September, compared with 1,375 in the same month last year.

CEO John McCorry said: "We’ve found lots of people coming to us for help for the first time this year, including many people who are working, and to be distributing more than 2,000 food parcels in a single month, at a time of year when demand is usually below average, is a very sobering position to be in."

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