State of Hunger

State of Hunger is the largest ever piece of research into hunger and food bank use in the UK. This three-year project, carried out by researchers at Heriot-Watt University, will help us to understand the scale of hunger and poverty in the UK and how we can move towards an end for the need for food banks. The research reveals, for the first time, the key drivers of food banks use. Problems with the benefits system were widespread – two-thirds of people who have used a food bank in the Trussell Trust’s network had had a problem with the benefits system in the year before they needed emergency food. Ill health and challenging life experiences like eviction or divorce are also pushing many people into hunger and poverty, and many either don’t have or have exhausted formal and informal support options. Read more.