The number of food bank users has risen from around one in 10 in March 2021 to nearly one in six this March, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Its research showed that food prices are a significant future concern over the next three years for 76% of UK consumers.
Around 22% of those surveyed in March said they skipped a meal or reduced the size of meals because they could not afford to buy food.
Almost 70% said the cost of healthy food was a big concern for the future, and almost two-thirds of people cited food poverty and food inequality as a concern for the future of food in the UK.
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Furthermore, food insecurity was more prevalent among those on lower incomes, younger people, people living in larger households, and Asian, Black, African and Caribbean people.
“In the face of the immediate pressures on people struggling to buy food, food banks are playing a vital role in our communities,” FSA chair Professor Susan Jebb said to The Guardian.
“We are urgently working with industry and other major donors, and food bank charities, to look at what more we can do together to ensure that food which is safe to eat can be redistributed to people who can benefit from this support.”
The news comes as Inflation reached 9% in April, the highest rate in more than 40 years, with food and non-alcoholic beverages prices growing 6.7% over the year.
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