![](https://i.imgur.com/CLvY2jA.png")
09-11-2021, 03:33 PM
By Anna Cooban, CNN Business
Photographs by Lynsey Addario for CNN
Published November 5, 2021
......
London’s food banks were busy before the pandemic. But now, as the United Kingdom braces for a second winter with coronavirus, rising food prices, higher energy costs and cuts to government benefits are putting huge pressure on household budgets and forcing legions of people to turn to charity.
Food banks in the capital city have reported a surge of visits in recent weeks, with more and more working professionals seeking help with groceries following the end of a government program that subsidized millions of jobs during the pandemic and a reduction in welfare payments to those with lower incomes.
......
new clients tend to be younger and single. And despite relatively low unemployment and a record number of job vacancies across the country, McGranaghan anticipates a “huge surge” in attendees over the next few months.
“We’re seeing a rise again … because of the electricity prices, because of the gas, because of the end of furlough,” he said.
......
Rising fuel and food costs have pushed up household bills for millions of Britons. Since January, wholesale gas prices have soared 423%
......
Higher energy prices are a problem across Europe, but Britain's relatively low levels of stored gas make it particularly exposed to volatile energy markets.
......
Before the pandemic, about 14.5 million Britons, or 22%, were living in poverty
......
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a think tank, expects even more people to fall into poverty as pandemic benefits taper off.
......
Food banks are not a new phenomenon in modern Britain — between 2010 and 2019, the number of emergency food parcels distributed by The Trussell Trust rose 2,543%, driven in part by cuts to the country’s social security system.
But supply chain bottlenecks, inflating food prices and shortages in supermarkets have limited their ability to feed struggling households as the economy emerges from its pandemic slump.
......
Supermarkets are having trouble keeping their shelves stocked because the United Kingdom is short 100,000 truck drivers, due in part to an exodus of EU workers following Brexit.
Much better to read the full article at: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2021...cnnphotos/
Photographs by Lynsey Addario for CNN
Published November 5, 2021
......
London’s food banks were busy before the pandemic. But now, as the United Kingdom braces for a second winter with coronavirus, rising food prices, higher energy costs and cuts to government benefits are putting huge pressure on household budgets and forcing legions of people to turn to charity.
Food banks in the capital city have reported a surge of visits in recent weeks, with more and more working professionals seeking help with groceries following the end of a government program that subsidized millions of jobs during the pandemic and a reduction in welfare payments to those with lower incomes.
......
new clients tend to be younger and single. And despite relatively low unemployment and a record number of job vacancies across the country, McGranaghan anticipates a “huge surge” in attendees over the next few months.
“We’re seeing a rise again … because of the electricity prices, because of the gas, because of the end of furlough,” he said.
......
Rising fuel and food costs have pushed up household bills for millions of Britons. Since January, wholesale gas prices have soared 423%
......
Higher energy prices are a problem across Europe, but Britain's relatively low levels of stored gas make it particularly exposed to volatile energy markets.
......
Before the pandemic, about 14.5 million Britons, or 22%, were living in poverty
......
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a think tank, expects even more people to fall into poverty as pandemic benefits taper off.
......
Food banks are not a new phenomenon in modern Britain — between 2010 and 2019, the number of emergency food parcels distributed by The Trussell Trust rose 2,543%, driven in part by cuts to the country’s social security system.
But supply chain bottlenecks, inflating food prices and shortages in supermarkets have limited their ability to feed struggling households as the economy emerges from its pandemic slump.
......
Supermarkets are having trouble keeping their shelves stocked because the United Kingdom is short 100,000 truck drivers, due in part to an exodus of EU workers following Brexit.
Much better to read the full article at: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2021...cnnphotos/
