New figures show that three million adults have gone hungry in the first three weeks of lockdown, with 1.5 million going all day without eating.
A new survey for the Food Foundation and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) reveals 7.1 million said someone in their household has had to reduce or skip meals because they could not access or afford food.
A fifth of those facing food insecurity did not have enough money to buy adequate food supplies, while half were unable to get the food they needed from the shops due to shortages.
Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said: ‘We cannot rely on food banks to support the millions of people who need emergency food aid during this crisis: it is too big a problem, and urgently requires substantial investment from central government.
’The government must put money in the pockets of families who can’t afford food, and support local authorities to scale up the food response for those who are self-isolating so they can secure enough food to sustain themselves and their children. Other countries are doing this, so can we.’
