ONE in five UK households borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs in April, the latest Which? monthly insight tracker survey has found.
The survey of 2,000 people, which focused on spending and behaviour, suggests the equivalent of five million households used credit cards, overdrafts or savings to buy food.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd described the findings as ‘simply shocking’.
Of the households covered by the survey, 43% were headed by people between 30 and 50, and just under half had incomes under £21,000.
The research found that 55% of those using credit to do weekly shopping planned to cut back on food in the coming months, with almost a third saying they had to borrow from friends or family in order to make ends meet.
The study also found that one quarter of people surveyed said that they were living comfortably on their incomes and that more than one third (36%) felt their finances were under pressure.
Almost one third (31%) of those surveyed cut back spending on essentials last month, and these were most likely to be women aged between 30 and 49.
Will Higham, Director of UK Poverty at Save the Children, said: ‘Some of the poorest families simply have nothing left to cut back on with many now being forced to get into debt in order to buy basic essentials such as food.
‘This is leaving many families at breaking point.
‘We know from families that we’ve worked with, that parents will skip food just so that they can feed their children.’
Which? executive director Lloyd said: ‘Our tracker shows that many households are stretched to their financial breaking point, with rising food prices one of the top worries for squeezed consumers.
‘It’s simply shocking that so many people need to use savings or credit to pay for essentials like food.’
Caroline Fletcher, Senior Insight Researcher Consumer Rights, said: ‘Our latest Consumer Insight Tracker data found that five million UK households needed to use credit or savings to cover their spending on food last month.
‘With food prices rising in the last year, it isn’t surprising that shoppers tell us that the cost of food is one of their top three worries.
‘Eight in 10 of the struggling households say they’re worried about food prices.
‘More than half say they plan to cut back spending on food in the coming months. However, others feel they’re not able to cut back when trying to feed their households.
‘I was shocked by these findings. I didn’t realise so many people can’t afford to cover their monthly food bill.’
Fletcher added: ‘I’ve had a look into how much people typically spend on their food bills – around £76 a week on average. Yet, in the last year food prices have risen by around 4% – something has to give.’
