One in six people face hunger across Northern Ireland, with women, disabled people, carers and parents, among the groups disproportionately at risk, landmark new research has found.
Hunger in Northern Ireland, published today by the Trussell Trust, reveals that, in mid-2022, 16% of the population here faced hunger in the last year because they didn’t have enough money.
This equates to around 354,000 people, around the population of Belfast and the surrounding district.
Read more: More than 95 children a day received an emergency food parcel last year
The Trussell Trust’s food banks provided almost 82,000 food parcels in the last year, a record number, which is worryingly more than double the amount provided five years ago.
The report says this consistent upward trajectory exposes that it is weaknesses in the social security system that are driving food bank need, rather than just the Covid pandemic or cost of living crisis.
The research also finds this is just the tip of the iceberg as around 7% of the population of Northern Ireland was supported by charitable food support, including food banks, yet most people facing hunger (75%) had not yet accessed any form of charitable food support.
The landmark research reveals certain groups of people are more likely to face hunger than others. These groups include disabled people, families with children (especially single parents), carers, single adults living alone and people who’ve had adverse life experiences, such as bereavement or domestic abuse.
Across the general population of Northern Ireland, 30% of people meet the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability. These figures are much higher for people in Northern Ireland experiencing food insecurity (55%) and for people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Northern Ireland (61%).
One third (34%) of NI households include children under the age of 16. However, nearly half (48%) of all those referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Northern Ireland are living with children under the age of 16.
Similarly, 12% of people experiencing food insecurity in Northern Ireland, and 25% of those referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network, are single adults living with children, despite this group only making up 4% of the population.
While just 2% of the population of Northern Ireland are from ethnic minority groups, this rises to one in ten (10%) of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network here.
Over a quarter (27%) of people providing unpaid care are experiencing food insecurity, compared to one in ten (12%) of those who do not provide care.
In mid-2022 the majority (58%) of people referred to food banks experienced one or more adverse life experiences in the past year (including domestic violence, bereavement, eviction, relationship breakdown) – this compares to 26% on average across the UK.
The main driver of hunger and food bank need in Northern Ireland is low income, says the research.
Overwhelmingly, this is caused by problems in the design and delivery of the social security system, compounded by too many jobs being inaccessible, insecure and not paying enough to cover essential costs.
The charity says many people would like to work but some face difficulty accessing jobs, including disabled people and carers, and parents who can’t find affordable childcare.
The majority (78%) of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Northern Ireland are in receipt of means-tested benefits, but this did not provide enough to cover the cost of essentials.
Jonny Currie, Network Lead in Northern Ireland at the Trussell Trust, said: “Being forced to turn to a food bank to feed your family is a horrifying reality for too many people in Northern Ireland, but as Hunger in Northern Ireland shows, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Many more people are struggling with hunger. This is not right. Food banks are not the answer when people are going without the essentials in one of the richest economies in the world.
“We need a social security system which provides protection and the dignity for people to cover their own essentials, such as food and bills.
“We also need urgent restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly to prioritise the policies that will protect people, such as the full implementation of recommendations from the reviews of welfare mitigations and discretionary support, and the delivery of an anti-poverty strategy.”
The research finds the vast majority of people facing hunger (82%) and people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network (89%) are in debt, compared to 58% of the general population.
Almost two in five (37%) people referred to food banks (or their partners) are repaying debts to local, or national government via deductions to their benefits to pay back a benefit advance, benefit overpayment, Department of Communities (DfC) advance or other debts and fines.
The study finds paid work does not always protect people from having to use food banks. One in five people across the UK forced to turn to food banks in the Trussell Trust network are in a working household. Just under a third (30%) of people in work who have had to use a food bank, are in insecure work such as zero hours contracts or agency work.
Researchers found the overwhelming majority of people at food banks have been forced to seek help as a last resort having exhausted all other avenues. They are likely to have accumulated multiple forms of debt, run down whatever limited savings they may have had, and exhausted all options from family and friends.
Around one in six (18%) people referred to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network have no internet access at all and less than half (49%) have access in their homes, leading to further isolation.
Without internet, most aspects of claiming Universal Credit are very difficult and people find it hard to navigate appointments and fill in online paperwork.
Other support services do not seem to be reaching many people before they are referred to a food bank. Half of all people referred to food banks (51%) said they had not received other advice of note before they were referred, the research says.
The research also sheds light on the feelings of shame and stigma attached to being forced to need charitable food support. Despite the vast majority (95%) saying they were treated with dignity and respect at food banks, six in ten (66%) people turning to food banks say that they feel embarrassed while receiving support.
But the charity believes there is a solution - the Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation are calling on the UK government to create an ‘Essentials Guarantee’, to enshrine in law the amount Universal Credit payments should be to guarantee that our essential items, such as food and bills, are always covered.
Jonny added: “Nobody in Northern Ireland should face hunger. That is why research like this is so vital. It provides the evidence we need to be able to change systems, policies, and practices, so that no one in Northern Ireland has to face hunger.
“We know that if all of us work together, we can end the need for food banks. It’s time to guarantee our essentials and create a roadmap to solve this once and for all.”
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