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10th Sep 2025
Written by Thomas Weekes, Alex Viccars, Charlotte Miles, Adam Nichols, Arianne Clarke, Holly Clarkson, Ellie Ball and Sophie Padgett
Report

Hunger in the UK 2025

Hunger in the UK Wave 2

The latest report in our flagship Hunger in the UK research series builds on findings from the previous report and provides a ‘state of the nation’ look at the scale and drivers of food bank provision and food insecurity across the UK. 

Care and caringCommunityDisabilityHousingMental healthMoneySocial securityWork
A woman and her two children at a bus stop, looking at the bus timetable

Download report

Download the full Hunger in the UK Wave 2 report.
Download report (3.35mb)

On this page:

This research sets out compelling evidence that despite falling inflation, there has been no progress on hunger in the UK. There are concerning signs that the levels of hardship people are facing are deepening, and severe hardship is becoming entrenched in communities across the UK.

Three separate reports sit alongside this publication exploring Hunger in Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.

Key findings

This report builds on findings from the previous report, where we identified areas that needed exploring further, including: 

  • How specific structural inequalities can shape severe hardship, food insecurity and the use of charitable food provision.
  • Looking at why some people who are food insecure are not accessing charitable food provision.
  • Why some people referred to food banks in the Trussell community have not received advice from other services prior to the referral, and how this situation might be improved.
  • Looking at experiences of hunger and severe hardship over time and examples of enablers or barriers to improving someone’s financial situation.
What we would have for dinner is maybe some toast, whereas before we would have a meal, you know what I mean? We'd have some toast, maybe a cup of coffee, and then we would just go to bed early.
Man with lived experience of hunger and hardshipAge 31-54, Scotland

Hunger in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

See the data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:

Every week, food bank volunteers meet people who are being pushed to the brink and left exhausted, isolated and without enough money for the essentials. This report shows how widespread those experiences are and how much worse the situation has become in recent years.
Matthew van Duyvenbode and Emma RevieCo-Chief Executives, Trussell

About the research 

The Hunger in the UK research project is a multi-year mixed methods research programme delivered in partnership with Ipsos and food banks in the Trussell community. The perspectives and participation of people who have needed to access emergency food have been integral to this research in not only understanding the problems that are driving food bank use, but also in crafting solutions to these problems.

See findings from Wave 1 of Hunger in the UK.

To access the reports in alternative formats please contact research@trussell.org.uk

Download technical report (3.46mb)
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