15% of households skipped meals last month because they couldn't afford to buy enough food

[cakeorwine]

‘Health emergency’: 15% of UK households went hungry last month, data shows | Food poverty | The Guardian

"Millions of people – including one in five families with children – have gone hungry or skipped meals in recent weeks because they could not regularly afford to buy groceries, according to new food insecurity data.
According to the Food Foundation tracker, 15% of UK households – equivalent to approximately 8 million adults and 3 million children – experienced food insecurity in January, as high food prices continued to hit the pockets of low-income families.

Expects warned the persistence of high levels of food insecurity among low-income families was a “health emergency” that would drive the prevalence of conditions linked to poor nutrition, such as malnutrition and rickets.
Nearly two-thirds (60%) of food-insecure households reported buying less fruit and 44% bought fewer vegetables as they struggled with the ongoing cost of living crisis. By contrast, just 11% of food-secure households bought less fruit and 6% purchased fewer vegetables"

This is awful data - and something that should be being talked about. Being in work does not protect you from this. Life is just very expensive for some people - and costs are still going up.

I mean, I had tinned sausages and beans for tea tonight with some cheese on top - because I was tired and don't have much in the house.

But I could have gone to Tesco and bought anything else. I could have got a takeaway. I could have made about 15 other things if I wanted to. I just couldn't be arsed.

But when you have no choice and it's tinned beans again, then that's a very different thing.

The true figure in deprived areas like mine will be much higher than that, probably closer to 35% sadly.

X-post @PawsisShady

Iv always been skint and spent my life on benefits topping up minimum wage jobs. But myself or my children have never not eaten. There's been weeks we can't afford fruit and veg and lived of pasta, mashed potatoes and beans on toast but we've certainly never not had food in the house and I really struggle to understand how anyone doesn't have a pound to feed their children unless their wasting their money on other things which in that case is neglect. During covid the school gave out supermarket vouchers which everyone came to collect after a couple of weeks they gave out food hampers instead with ingredients to cook meals. Not one parent out of the whole school came to collect one and we live in a very deprived area so will be the people their talking about

But lettuce, cauliflower and carrots don't make a meal. You need to put things with them. Which is expensive.

I agree, but I also think there's an element of wanting the benefits of a cohesive society, like someone to care for the elderly or children, without the drawbacks like supporting those on low incomes that actually keep the services going, and making sure everyone has a fair shot at a decent standard of living no matter how lowly their job is perceived to be.

By blaming people's perceived failings those people avoid the real questions about what has gone wrong and who has been instrumental in that, and the notion they might be a part of that and essentially benefitting from other people.

Because people like to think they're good people and benefitting from a service while the person delivering it is sinking would be an uncomfortable truth and land some of the blame with them, which they don't want to address.

Ignoring the fact that cheese on scrambled eggs is disgusting, a pack of mixed size eggs between 4 is not going to sustain an adult. A bag of lettuce is not going to provide a days worth of veg.

It might be 4.60 for one meal but what about the rest of the days food?

Tbh you sound like 30p Lee, porridge made with water and weetabix for the other two meals?

You eat those things because you choose to. If you wanted to say “Fuck it, I want a fillet steak tonight” you could have one. Imagine a life where your scrambled egg and salad was all you could have on a good night.

Because a tenner a month for Netflix will make all the difference. £2.50 a week. Just over 50p per person in an average family.
Plus you think it would be ok if 15% of families could just about afford to feed themselves as long as they had no entertainment whatsoever and no internet access to apply for jobs or communicate with government agencies (a smart phone being many people’s alternative to a PC/Laptop).

I love cheesy scrambled eggs. A cheese and scrambled egg sarnie (toasted bread) was one of my go-tos when I was skint and working long hours but I wouldn't have dreamed of criticizing someone else who chose a frozen pizza (which is essentially cheese and tomato on bread) instead.

Everyone picking one meal that costs X per head is forgetting there are 7 days in a week and three meals per day plus people on low incomes are often in physically demanding jobs with long hours i.e care work. They need more than 2 eggs and a bit of bread to sustain themselves for a 16 hour shift.

Who eats salad with scrambled egg on toast? It’s a breakfast or a lunch, not a main meal. Chucking lettuce on the side doesn’t make it a main meal.

Oh don’t get me wrong if the money isn’t there you can’t magic food up out of nowhere and that’s totally different.

I’m talking about people who struggle to food shop for less than £60 a week, and insist healthy meals are ‘slop’ because they think having meat and rich food every night is a human right.

Again that's your opinion. I like scrambled egg with grated cheese on top. With 6 eggs you could make two omelettes, with the cheese make it cheese omelettes.

Do you genuinely believe that people in poverty have over £250 a month to spend on food?

That’s where you’re wrong.

Eggs - protein
Toast - carbohydrate
Cheese - dairy
Salad - iron, fibre or vitamin A/C depending on what’s in it

A healthy, quick, filling meal.

Eggs - 6 for £1.30
Wholemeal bread for toast - 75p for loaf so about 30p for 4 people
Grated cheese - £1.99 for bag so would use about £1 worth
Bag of salad - £1
Salad dressing - £1

Who on earth would buy a bag of grated cheese if they’re on a tight budget - you’d buy a block which is cheaper for more. That loaf isn’t going to go far between 4 people either.

Your calculation of 6 eggs between 4 people is not a filling meal.

I mean my food shop is around £60pw for myself but I'm including everything in that from toilet roll to coffee to work lunch to my Saturday night pizza, some weeks are cheaper than others
Could I cut it down? Yes. But stuff is expensive now and £60 doesn't get you a huge amount

What about drinks? Or are the poor only allowed (metered) water.

Milk in the scrambled egg?

Oil or marge or butter for the pan?

Allowed a little pudding?

Allowed a little pudding?

They are supposed to go foraging for berries for pudding because someone working 16-hour shifts, without a car who lives on a council estate in Birmingham, has loads of places to forage and loads of time and energy to do so.

Found this I took. Yes the protein puddings aren't cheap, but this shop was £42
I was "where's the rest of it?!"

I never put milk in scrambled egg it tastes vile.

What do you think should be a typical drink with dinner? We just drink water or the children have milk.

We don’t have pudding either.

Given the nations health I don’t think we need to worry about drinking Appletiser with every meal and having a daily pudding.

I think that's high for one person.

Smoked haddock, rice pudding, beetroot and pineapple would also be nutritionally balanced but you wouldn’t eat them together.

Given the nations health I don’t think we need to worry about drinking Appletiser with every meal and having a daily pudding.

No but milk costs money, and a yoghurt, a piece of fruit all cost money