Design and delivery of social security system is the most significant cause of financial insecurity driving need for food banks, says Trussell Trust

New report repeats call for introduction of universal credit ‘Essentials Guarantee’ in light of finding that more than 11 million people in the UK experienced food insecurity in 2022

The design and delivery of the social security system is the most significant cause of the financial insecurity that is driving the need for food banks, the Trussell Trust has said.

In a new report, Hunger in the UK – the first wave of a six-year research programme – the Trussell Trust sets out findings on the scale and drivers of food insecurity and food bank use in the UK in 2022, based on surveys of people referred to foodbanks in its network and an online survey of the UK general population, alongside in-depth interviews with 50 people who completed the food bank survey.

Noting that public attention often focuses primarily on the extent of food bank need, the Trust says that its research found that food bank use is just the tip of a much 'deeper iceberg of hunger', with 14 per cent of all UK adults (or their households) experiencing food insecurity in the 12 months to mid-2022, equating to an estimated 11.3 million people.

The Trussell Trust also finds that –

  • more than half of households experiencing food insecurity, and three quarters of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network, say that they or a member of their household are disabled;
  • working-age adults are much more likely to need to turn to a food bank than pensioners – this is particularly the case for single adults living alone and those not currently in paid work;
  • families with children are at a high risk of food insecurity – nearly half (47 per cent) of all households experiencing food insecurity include children under the age of 16; and
  • people from ethnic minority groups, women, people who are LGBTQ+, people who have sought or ever applied for asylum, and people who were in care as a child, are all overrepresented in the proportion of the population experiencing food insecurity and receiving food aid.

Turning to the causes of hunger in the UK, the Trust says that –

'Just as there is no ‘typical’ person who is forced to use a food bank, there is also no single or simple journey that leads them there. But, while there are many contributing factors, insufficient income is the fundamental driver for almost all people forced to use a food bank. The vast majority (86%) of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network in mid-2022 have an income so low that they were experiencing destitution when they were supported by the food bank. These already low incomes are further destabilised by a lack of savings and having to cope with arrears and debt.'

The Trussell Trust adds that the most significant cause of the financial insecurity that is driving the need for food banks is the design and delivery of the social security system, with four main issues affecting food bank users – 

  • lack of information about entitlements;
  • difficulties claiming and sustaining benefits, particularly personal independence payments;
  • insufficient income from benefits when they are accessed; and
  • further reductions to income from sanctions, caps and debt deductions.

The Trust also notes that one in five people referred to food banks in its network are in working households, with insecure work particularly correlated with food insecurity, and that wider factors such as adverse life events and social isolation exacerbate the impacts of insufficient income, leaving some people more likely to have to access food banks.

Repeating its call for the introduction of an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ – which would ensure that the basic rate of universal credit is always enough for people to afford the essentials – the Trust concludes by saying –

'This report demonstrates the urgent need for this policy change and the importance of it being supported by all who are committed to making the UK a country without the need for food banks'

NB – the Trust has also published separate reports on Hunger in Scotland, Hunger in Wales and Hunger in Northern Ireland.

For more information, see Hunger in the UK from trusselltrust.org