The Cost of Hunger and Hardship
This report explores the full scale of the need for emergency food in the UK, and the policy levers we have at hand to make a difference to hunger and hardship in the UK.
This is the first report from a longer-term project, with the next report due spring 2025. Subsequent analysis will focus on the personal, social, and economic cost of facing hunger and hardship. Analysis within this report is provided by WPI Economics.
This interim report explores:
How we define the full scale of need for emergency food, measured by our ‘hunger and hardship’ indicator
The scale of hunger and hardship across the UK, including historic and future trends
Who is most likely to face hunger and hardship
Impact assessments of a range of policies, including the fiscal cost and the impact on the scale of hunger and hardship.
This research finds that a record number of people are facing hunger and hardship across the UK, with rates more than a third higher than they were 20 years ago. Without change, things are projected to get worse. Some groups across society are bearing the burden more than most, including children, people living in disabled families and people from racialised communities.
Policy modelling shows there are a range of tools that would make a tangible difference to hunger and hardship in the UK. Importantly, the levers to pull resulting in the biggest impact are those which invest in social security to boost people’s incomes. Change may not happen overnight, but there is immediate action the UK government can take to start building a better future.