One in ten low-income Londoners have £2.85 to spend on breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, new research reveals.
The data from London’s largest food redistribution, The Felix Project found that 12% of people living in London on a salary less than £20,000 a year have between £20 to £29.99 a week to spend on food, which equates to less than half the average household’s weekly food shop.
For 4% of the survey’s respondents, this weekly budget fell to £10, while 2% said they had nothing left to spend on food.
The cost of cooking food was also a concern for 47% as a result of rising energy bills and while 44% said they would only eat one hot meal a day to overcome this, 34% said they wouldn’t cook anything that takes too long and 30% would cook more microwave meals.
“Sadly I am not surprised by these results; we know from our community groups that many people are too worried to turn on their ovens and have simply stopped eating hot food,” The Felix Project CEO, Charlotte Hill said.
“We recently heard from a housing group that told me people are asking if gas supplies to their homes can be switched off, so they are not tempted to use their oven or boiler. The cost-of-living crisis is having a catastrophic impact on people’s lives and leaving too many at risk of regularly missing meals.”
The Felix Project founder, Justin Byam-Shaw added: “Londoners who can’t afford to buy food, simply can’t wait for another new Government to act.
“The Felix Project stands ready to ramp up our support for struggling Londoners now and that’s why we are launching our Empty Plate Emergency Appeal today. We need more money, just £5 will deliver 22 meals to those in real need.”
