Isolation is driving use of food bank, a major report claims (Image: Getty)

       A crisis of loneliness is fuelling the surge in food bank use, a major report warns.

       One in five food bank users say they have no family or friends to support them.

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       The Centre for Social Justice warns that the Government risks fostering a “dependency culture” by subsidising food aid by around ￡200million a year. The influential think tank pushes for ministers to tackle the “root causes” of food bank use which include “loneliness and social isolation”.

       Polling by Whitestone Insight found three in five people who have used a food bank in the last year expect to do so again this Christmas.

       People who use food banks were shown to be “significantly lonelier” than the general population. Just one in four people who use these services (26 per cent) say they never feel lonely, compared to two in five adults in the general population (40 per cent).

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       Thirty-nine per cent of food bank users live alone, compared to just 22 per cent of all adults surveyed.

       Senior researcher Josh Nicholson warned the country is “in danger of institutionalising emergency food aid,” adding: “In their traditional format, focused solely on the distribution of free food, food banks can only address the symptoms of failing social and economic life.”

       The CSJ reports that in 2022-23 2.3million people lived in a household that had used a food bank in the last 12 months – the equivalent of 3.4 per cent of the UK population. This is an increase of 200,000 on the year before.

       It wants an “end the bad practice of referring people to food banks without any attempt to address the underlying crisis”.

       The CSJ recommends that “public money is only given to food banks that operate a referral and registration process for their service users”.

       Helen Barnard, director of policy of the Trussell Trust – a “community of food banks” with 36,000 volunteers – said: “We urgently need to tackle the root causes of the appalling levels of hunger and hardship we are seeing across the UK, and food banks are not the right long-term solution.”

       She said that the “most significant driver of hunger and hardship” is “people being trapped on incomes so low they can’t afford essentials like food and bills”.

       Ms Barnard added: “One in four of people who are referred to food banks in the Trussell community are experiencing severe social isolation, stating that they have contact with relatives, friends, or neighbours, less than once a month or never.”

       Denise Bentley of First Love Foundation, which works to tackle poverty, writes in the foreword to the report: “When I first established a food bank in Tower Hamlets in 2010, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country, I believed we were addressing the urgent and visible issue of hunger. However, it quickly became evident that hunger was merely a symptom of a far deeper crisis.”

       She said the people who sought help faced challenges that “extended far beyond material deprivation” and included “profound social isolation and the erosion of their dignity”.

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       Nearly one million pensioners in UK to face water poverty by 2030 'without action'

       18 Comments

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       Nearly one million pensioners in UK to face water poverty by 2030 'without action'

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       Rachel Reeves doesn't have it in her to deliver vital culture change Britain needs

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       28 Comments

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       Martin Lewis' MSE says anyone earning under ￡35,000 can get ￡5,800 from DWP

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       DWP warning to 880,000 Brits missing out on up to ￡300 in cost of living support

       Comments

       PIP claimants could boost payments by up to ￡622

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       Infected blood compensation impact on DWP benefits and inheritance ahead of first payments

       Comments

       Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are on a mission to make every statement meaningless

       149 Comments

       Labour slammed for prioritising union pay rises over public safety as criminals rejoice

       270 Comments

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       'I'm a pensioner and can't afford to flush my toilet every time due to water bill worries'

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       Rachel Reeves to rake in an extra ￡6bn a year with pension age hike

       448 Comments

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       2 Comments

       700,000 pensioners warned they have one week to act or risk losing up to ￡4,500 support

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       1 Comments

       Nearly one million pensioners in UK to face water poverty by 2030 'without action'

       18 Comments

       Households can get up to ￡300 in new cost of living payments to help with energy bills

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       Rachel Reeves doesn't have it in her to deliver vital culture change Britain needs

       30 Comments

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       28 Comments

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       Martin Lewis' MSE says anyone earning under ￡35,000 can get ￡5,800 from DWP

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       DWP warning to 880,000 Brits missing out on up to ￡300 in cost of living support

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       A spokesperson for the Halifax-based Noah’s Ark Centre said the “true need is not a food parcel” but “money advice,” adding: “You are letting people down if you are just giving food away.”

       A Government spokeswoman said: “We know that people who live in more deprived areas are at a higher risk of experiencing chronic loneliness and that individuals living in low income households are more likely to access food banks. The mass dependence on food banks is unacceptable - that’s why we’ve extended the household support fund again to help struggling families with the cost of essentials.

       “Alongside this, we are increasing the national living wage, uprating benefits and helping over one million households by introducing a fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions.”