General Article Food waste and hunger in the UK

Topic Selected: Food and Diet
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Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of good food is wasted by the UK food industry every year. At the same time, millions of people are struggling to afford to eat. Our work addresses these two issues by redistributing food industry surplus, which would otherwise go to waste, to the people who need it most. Find facts and figures on food waste and hunger in the UK below.

8.4 million people in the UK are struggling to afford to eat

This is equivalent to the entire population of London.

Hunger in the UK

4.7 million of these people live in severely food-insecure homes. This means that their food intake is greatly reduced and children regularly experience physical sensations of hunger.

UN figures also show that 5.6% of people aged 15 or over struggle to get enough food. A further 4.5% report that they have been a full day without anything to eat.

Our own research shows that 46% of people accessing the services of our charity partners have gone a whole day without a proper meal in the last m...

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