Britain's shocking food poverty

One has to wonder how long people will accept the rich getting richer (vastly!) whilst a significant pocket of the population is suffering from food poverty. Aside from the inhumanity of it all, and plain indecency about such a situation coming about, the fallout, on a variety of levels, of food poverty cannot be under-estimated. The latest shocking state of things in Britain, is revealed in this piece in The Independent.

"The shocking scale of food poverty in Britain is exposed today by new figures showing record numbers of people are reliant on handouts because of punitive benefits sanctions.

More than 900,000 people were given emergency food in the past year, an increase of 163 per cent, according to figures from the Trussell Trust, the biggest food bank charity. The explosion in demand has coincided with an increase in those seeking help following a benefit sanction.

A coalition of anti-poverty charities, including the Trussell Trust, claims the figures show that the UK is breaching international law by violating the human right to food."

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In total, 913,138 people received three days’ emergency food from Trussell Trust food banks in 2013-14, compared with 346,992 in 2012-13.

Static incomes, rising living costs, low pay, under-employment and other problems related to welfare reform also contributed to the increased demand, the charity said."

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