Food banks are seeing a decline in donations amid cost of living pressures, while demand has surged as inflation levels continue to rise and households struggle to afford essential food items.
According to giving platform Neighbourly, its survey found that six in 10 small voluntary organisations across the UK have received less public food donations directly or through supermarket drop-off points.
Having surveyed 1,374 local charity and community organisations which currently support 528,953 people across the UK and Ireland, 55% have received fewer surplus food donations from businesses and 27% reported fewer volunteers.
“Relatively speaking we are still in the early stages of this cost-of-living crisis and this situation will intensify over the coming months, with a growing proportion of the UK population struggling, many of which will never have needed support like this before,” Neighbourly chief executive Steve Butterwoth said.
“It is therefore imperative that the government lays out a clear vision of support for those in financial difficulty and ensures the charities and organisations that support them are not left behind.”
A separate survey of 1,376 charities by FareShare found that nine in 10 have seen a rise in demand with this doubling for 25% and 76% needing more access to food in order to meet the increased need.
FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said: “What we are hearing from the charities we support is that this situation will only worsen and they are worried they may not be able to meet the extra demand.”
Looking into why donations have declined, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) found that of 1,023 people, 6% stopped or reduced a singular payment to charities due to the increased cost of living.
A further 19% are considering to cut back on donations as the average monthly contribution dropped from £67 in August to £51 in September.
CAF chief executive, Neil Heslop added: “Charities need donations now more than ever as more families rely on the vital services they provide.
“Mass giving is crucial for many charities, so as people cut back, government and private sector funding which supported charities through the pandemic is greatly needed to help them through this crisis.”
