Ukrainian refugees turn to food banks as UK hosts struggle with costs

A volunteer at a food bank storage centre in London. A growing number of Ukrainian refugees in the UK are having to rely on handouts to feed themselves. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP

A London host of a Ukrainian family has written to her local food bank “begging for help” because rising energy costs mean she can no longer afford to feed her new guests.

The Ukrainian family, now coming to a food bank in Euston, north London, every week, is among a growing number of recently arrived refugees from the war-torn country relying on handouts to survive, according to charities.