With the cost of living rising, operators of hundreds of UK charity boards have called for swift government action.
"We are deeply concerned at the level of suffering we are witnessing and our capacity to keep people safe from hunger in the coming weeks and months," said a letter from the Independent Food Aid Network, which brings together more than 550 people panels have organized to the UK Government.
Poverty and hunger have “risen rapidly”.
An emergency food package, such as that given out by food banks across the country, cannot alleviate a person's financial hardship, but only serves as a "temporary patch".
Instead, measures are urgently needed to ensure more job security and higher wages and make emergency payments possible.
There are currently significant cuts for many citizens due to rising prices for food, energy and other goods.
People are now coming to the food banks who had previously donated food themselves.
There is a clear regional disparity in prosperity in the UK.
While the south and the region around London is economically strong and more prosperous, there are extremely disadvantaged areas in the north of England that had high poverty rates even before the current rise in prices.
The conservative government has declared "leveling up" - i.e. the equalization of living conditions and the promotion of neglected regions - to be a central task, but has so far hardly supported it with concrete measures.