Around 600,000 searches for “foodbanks near me” were made on Google in the month of May, compared to the same period last year.
According to tech giants at the Convenience Conference 2022 on Tuesday, the pressure on household budgets amid the cost-of-living crisis has lead to an increase of 39% for food bank searches.
Google found that the data showed the searches were distributed fairly evenly across the country, although Cumbria and East Yorkshire saw the largest increases, up 64% each compared with 2021 figures.
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It comes as new research from the Trussell Trust showed that 21% of people were not able to cook hot meals this summer due to the increased cost of using a cooker.
“We know the level of need is rising, so I am deeply troubled but not surprised by these figures,” The Felix Project CEO, Charlotte Hill said.
”We supply food to over a thousand organisations across London and we have hundreds more on our waiting lists, every week more are getting in contact asking for our help.”
Google industry manager of consumer retail Kathy Lee said that rises in energy and food prices had led to consumers tightening their belts.
However, despite this, searches for so-called affordable luxuries such as confectionery, takeaway coffee and ice cream all increased in August.
“Whilst we expect people to shift away from eating out, it may be small treats and affordable luxuries that remain strong during the downturn. This should help convenience retailers to navigate through the bumpy road ahead.”
