Food banks are a lifeline. But they’re not a long-term solution to hunger. Repost if you agree.

We don’t need more food banks, we need change. Repost if you agree.

Hunger in the UK isn’t a personal failure. Its a systemic failure - one that is entirely fixable.

⚠️ JUST IN: 6.8 million people are facing severe hardship. Research by @jrf-uk.bsky.social reveals that the cost of living crisis is far from over, with record numbers of people going without essentials like food and heating. We NEED more action to turn the tide on hunger in the UK.

❗ Pensioners are cutting back on food, skipping showers and turning off the heating - because they have no money. Rising food and energy costs are pushing older people to the brink, forcing many to rely on food banks. This cannot continue.

🚨 The cost of living crisis is not over yet: UK inflation is back up. People are already struggling to survive. This will pile even more pressure onto overstretched incomes, and push more people to the doors of food banks.

Hunger in the UK ISN’T about a lack of food. - It’s about people not having enough money to survive - It’s about a lack of affordable housing - It’s about low wages - It’s about a weak social security system

What you think food banks do: provide food. What they actually do: provide food and toiletries, listen, give advice and support with housing, mental health and social security, offer a cuppa and a biscuit, make people feel hopeful again.

BIG NEWS: more effective support will be given to people facing hardship from April! The Crisis & Resilience Fund will provide financial support to prevent people from needing food banks. This is a big step because hunger in the UK is NOT a food problem, it’s an income problem. 🧵👇

26 years ago, there were no food banks. Now, because of rising food, rent and bills, and our poor social security system there are over 1,400.

This is a real issue that food banks are seeing across the country: people are being forced to get into bed because they can't afford to put the heating on. Many of them are in receipt of Universal Credit. It's time for change. Everyone deserves a warm, safe place to call home. 🏠

❗ 1 in 4 people who will turn to a food bank in our community this winter will have had almost no social contact – the food bank may be the first time they speak to someone.

❗There’s been a 40% increase in emergency food parcels provided over winter in the last 5 years. Food prices have risen by 37% in the last 5 years, rents are skyrocketing, bills are crazy, and our social security system hasn’t kept up. People don’t have enough money to live.

This is a real quote from somebody at one of our food banks... ‘Since my husband died two weeks ago, I’ve been living on Weetabix. My account was frozen, and Universal Credit hasn’t started.’ Losing a loved one is hard enough. People shouldn't have to worry about food on top of that. 💔

PSA: We expect to provide an emergency food parcel EVERY 10 SECONDS this winter.

ICYMI: Our community of food banks provided 739,000 emergency food parcels last winter alone. That’s 40% more than 5 years ago.

£104 a week – to cover food, bills, essential travel for work or school, toiletries like shampoo and toothpaste. That’s how much people referred to our food banks typically have to get by. It’s not enough.

‘I thought, let’s just drink water this week. I know I can survive a few days without food.’ No one should be left in a situation like this. But this winter thousands of people will be driven to the doors of food banks.

GOOD NEWS: The government's Child Poverty Strategy is here ➡️ Ending the two-child limit, expanding Free School Meals and increasing childcare support will help protect *hundreds of thousands* of children from growing up facing hunger and hardship.

❗In the time it takes you to read this, we’ll have provided another emergency food parcel.

🚨 JUST IN: tens of thousands of people will need to turn to a food bank for the very first time this winter. We expect to provide an emergency food parcel EVERY 10 SECONDS.

People are feeling the pinch. The rising cost of essentials like food, warmth and clothing will push thousands of people to the doors of food banks for the first time this winter. Things don’t have to be this way.

Fantastic news! The Chancellor just announced the end of the 2 child limit. This will protect 100s of 1000s of children from growing up facing hunger & hardship, ease pressure on public services & boost our economy. #Budget2025

WE WON 💥 The two-child benefit limit is GONE! This will pull 470,000 children out of severe hardship by 2027. This is a massive victory for families, campaigners, and every one of you that played your part urging the Chancellor to act.

The price of food alone is 35% higher than just five years ago. And as temperatures drop, the coming months will be harsher than ever for people already living on the sharpest edge. This winter, thousands of people will walk through the doors of a food bank for the very first time.

ICYMI: the two-child benefit limit is the single biggest driver of child poverty in the UK, pushing hundreds of families into hardship EVERY DAY. Fully removing it would lift 470,000 children out of severe hardship. It's the moral thing to do.

❗️ This winter, we expect to provide an emergency food parcel to someone every 10 SECONDS. The rising cost of essentials like heating and food - and our weak social security system - will drive thousands of people to the doors of a food bank for the very first time.

❗️109 baby grows - one for every child pushed into severe hardship each day by the two child limit. We’re standing in Parliament today with food banks and charities to say enough is enough. The UK government MUST fully remove the two-child limit to support struggling families.

Every family should be able to afford food and heating. But the two-child benefit cap is pushing families to the edge. Many of them are working. Removing the cap is the simplest way to protect struggling families - help us call for change now 👉 bit.ly/4ovyIAj

❗ Families are having to choose between putting the heating on or food on the table. Parents are skipping meals. People are terrified of rising bills. It's so wrong. We desperately need a social security system that protects us when we need it most.

❗️3.8 MILLION children are facing hunger in the UK. And the biggest driver? The two-child benefit cap. This cruel policy restricts support for families on a low income to their first 2 kids.

Cutting disability support doesn’t help disabled people into work. Disabled people need accessible jobs and compassionate support 💚

Food banks provide help when people need it most. But real change means ending the need for them altogether. Repost if you agree 💚

In the last 5 years... 🔥 Gas has risen by 67% 🥫 Food by 37% ⚡ Electric by 51% But average earnings have risen by JUST 34%.

🚨 Today we at @turn2us.org.uk are in parliament to launch our new report and campaign to #StopTheStigma and fix the system. Almost all of us will need our social security system at some point in our lives, but our society's distrust of claimants has been baked into its policies and practice...(1/6)

❗ More children are being pushed to food banks each day because of the two-child limit. No child should know what a food bank is, let alone need one. Ask your MP to write to the Chancellor to remove the two-child limit now 👉 bit.ly/4ovyIAj

🚨 NEW: Ending the two-child limit would lift 470,000 children out of severe hardship. It’s the simplest way to protect families from needing to turn to food banks just to survive. Email your MP to call on the Chancellor to end this cruel policy 👉 https://bit.ly/4ovyIAj

❗ Some essential things that we all need to live decent lives, but too many people are sadly going without. A thread...🧵

❗ The two-child limit is pushing families to food banks. This policy is cruel. And it's time to end it. Email your MP to call on the Chancellor to end the two-child limit 👉 https://bit.ly/4ovyIAj

Parents under the two-child limit aren’t asking for luxuries. They’re asking: - Which child will get new school shoes? - Do I put the heating on or food on the table? - Can I just have a cup of tea for dinner tonight so the kids can eat instead?

This #WorldFoodDay here's a stark reminder of how much the price of food has risen in the UK in the last 5 years...

❗️You wouldn’t turn away a sick child from the hospital or stop them going to school. Yet the two-child limit denies families the support they need to survive.

📈 Rents are soaring... 📉 but housing support isn't keeping up. This is leaving people facing homelessness, or living in cold, mouldy, unsafe homes. It's so wrong. We're calling for urgent action to properly support people to access the homes they need. 💚

This is how much the price of having a child has shot up in the past 5 years...🤯 🤱 Cost of parenting: +70% 🌈 Nursery costs: +20% 🧸 Toys and games: +9% 🍦 Cost of an ice cream: +42%

No one should have to live in a mouldy home. But the price of rents has absolutely shot up in the last 5 years, and Clare’s experiences are sadly all too common. This isn’t right. Everyone should be able to access warm, safe and affordable housing. 💚

Over HALF of people turning to food banks are struggling with a mental health problem. Worrying about money isn't just numbers. It's the sleepless nights, stress and emotional toll that comes with facing hardship. #WorldMentalHealthDay

We see comments like this all the time. But the thing is, lots of people who need food banks HAVE JOBS. Bills are rising, rent is sky-high – and wages just don’t cover it all. Even when income is topped up by Universal Credit, people still don’t have enough money to survive.

Every day the two-child limit pushes 109 children into hunger. The UK gov PROMISED to end the need for emergency food. So we're backing@savechildrenuk.bsky.social to greet MPs to the Labour Party Conference with a message they cannot miss. 👀

As they arrive at the Labour Party Conference, we're greeting Keir Starmer and his MPs with a message that demands a screen bigger than 21,000 mobile phones*: "What was the point of winning the general election if not to lift kids out of poverty?" 1/3

Reasons why people have to turn to food banks: - They don’t have enough money to buy food - They lost their job or it doesn’t pay enough - A family member passed away - They got sick or are disabled - Their fridge, car, or washing machine broke