“There are people who are eating pet food and heating their food with candles”: the impact of inflation in the UK

Some people resort to feeding on pet food while others try heating food on a radiator.

This was denounced by Mark Seed, director of a community food project in Trowbridge, in the east of Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

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BBC analysis of 2021 census data suggests that six of the most deprived communities in Wales, one of the four nations that make up the United KingdomThey are in that city.

However, a charity warns that struggling households do not only appear in areas long associated with poverty and calls for policies to focus on people, not places.

Not all that glitters is gold

Trowbridge lies in what Seed calls an “arc of poverty” from east to west of the town.

Seed says that many people in the Welsh city of Cardiff are struggling to eat and stay warm this winter due to inflation.

“I’m still in awe of having people eat pet food,” he says.

“[Hay] people trying to heat their food on a radiator or with a candle. These They are shocking true stories.“he adds.

“Cardiff is a thriving city, yet it has pockets of deprivation that just aren’t acceptable,” says Seed, who says people don’t earn enough to pay for essentials.

The inflationary crisis has only aggravated the situation.

“[La gente] is telling us that they work every hour that they can,” he explains.

The Pantry, the food bank that Seed runs, offers good quality food at very low prices to more than 160 people.

The Pantry organization provides about 30 families a week with basic food baskets for about US$6.

One of them is Elizabeth Williams, 54, who says the project “It makes a big difference” and brings people together, but admits that times are still tough.

“Usually, I try not to spend to improve things in my house,” he said.

She and her partner do not work, while their son, who lives with them, works long hours.

“Even with my son working and contributing it’s hard, because he also has to live and has needs. He has several things wrong and is waiting for surgery,” he says.

Poverty is not always evident and when it is so it is much more complicated to combat it, experts warn. (Getty Images).

For decades West Wales and the Dales received additional funding from the European Union (EU) because they were among the poorest parts of Europebut Cardiff was not included because, in terms of average living standards, it was not disadvantaged.

Victoria Winckler, director of Welsh poverty charity The Bevan Foundation, warned of the dangers of stereotyping large areas or cities as deprived or affluent.

“The stereotype is that Cardiff is prosperous and the valleys are poor and these figures show that this is not the case at all,” he said.

“You have areas of Cardiff that are prosperous, yes, but you also have quite significant areas of the Welsh capital where people are not doing so well,” he added.

beyond wales

The testimonies of these people are added to what many other citizens who live in different parts of the United Kingdom have.

Millions of people in the UK are currently at the crossroads of deciding whether to eat or pay their electricity and heating bills. (GETTY IMAGES).

About a third of single parents have turned to skip any of the meals of the day to reach the end of the month, as revealed by a recent investigation by the group Which? about the households hardest hit by the inflationary crisis in that country.

Members of 3 out of 10 single-parent households interviewed said they had skipped a meal as a result of rising food prices. In total, the same situation occurs in 14% of the households that participated in the study.

“Our investigation found that families across the UK are struggling with the rising cost of living, with single-parent households bearing the brunt of the crisis“, he told the British newspaper Guardian Rocío Concha, director of policy and activism at Which?

Banner that reads: ‘I’m very hungry. Help. God bless you.’ (GETTY IMAGES).

For the organization, it is key that supermarkets make sure that prices are easy to compare and that there is a variety of offers for different budgets.

“As prices continue to rise, it is critical that everyone have access to affordable food that is healthy for them and their families,” Concha added.

The most recent official data shows that Food inflation in the UK reached 16.4% in Octoberits highest level since 1977.

This is mainly due to the strong rise in basic food basket products such as milk, butter, cheese, pasta, and eggs.

Food banks have proliferated in the UK in recent years. (GETTY IMAGES).

Single-parent households and pensioners dedicate a larger proportion of their budget to food, electricity and gasoline, around 30%. For couples with children, this percentage falls to 25%, according to official calculations.

However, all households are spending significantly more than last year on essential products.

A woman in her 40s told investigators that given the cost of her bills, some weeks she can barely feed her children.

Another person added: “I’m not eating adequately to be able to feed and clothe my children and still have enough for electricity.”

According to data revealed this Monday by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI, for its acronym in English), the UK economy is on course to shrink by 0.4% next year due to inflation and the suspicion of large companies. companies to invest.

Source: Elcomercio