More and more Britons are unable to keep fresh ingredients because of rising living costs
The Guardian newspaper today, November 14, cited data from the UK-based charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) showing that nearly 50% of British households out of about 2 million mentioned households were forced to stop using refrigerators or freezers for the first time since May.
This is a sign of rising living costs leading to a crisis among low-income households in the UK, according to JRF.
Millions of families are still resorting to “desperate measures” to pay rising bills, rent and food costs. Four in five struggling households in the UK continue to eat sparingly, failing to afford food, turning off heating and failing to replace worn-out clothes.
The JRF Living Costs Crisis Survey found that in October, a quarter of low-income households (2.8 million) had to borrow money to pay for meals, a third had to sell their belongings to pay for living expenses, and a sixth had to use community heating.
The findings come amid concern among charities, as the UK cabinet looks to reduce financial support for low-income families.
Despite the UK government spending more than £12bn on efforts to support people's living costs and inflation starting to fall, 7.3 million households in the country have suffered without food or essentials in the past six months, the JRF said.
And the organization warns the crisis is far from over.
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