Food bank use surges among UK students

Holly Dougan, a student, told the BBC that food bank use is now ‘essential’ for many students. Meanwhile, the wealth accumulated by the richest 50 households exceeds that of the bottom 50 percent of the country.

Crippling consequences

The cost of living crisis and lack of student funding – both a consequence of economic inequality – have crippled students and driven greater reliance on food banks.

Meanwhile, if the super-rich continue to accumulate wealth at the rate of recent years, 200 families will have more wealth than the entire country’s GDP by 2035, according to the Equality Trust.

One student union has seen a 20% rise in students using The Pantry, a university food bank. The president of the union in Belfast said:

It is unbelievable the amount of students that use The Pantry, we have over 200 students visiting every day

She continued:

A lot of our students would struggle to eat and have meals, and have three meals a day let alone one so it’s really something for our students to not have to choose between heating or eating… A lot of this comes from students not having enough money within loans, rent prices are increasing a lot and I think that’s very much a contributing factor.

Ben Friel, the National Union of Students NI president, added:

Maybe 10 or 15 years ago a students’ union would just be a place that people went on nights out, had a fun time, but now we’re in a situation where students’ unions have had to step up to the plate… Students aren’t just here for a night out, students get degrees, they come and contribute to the economy… Fundamentally we need to rethink how we look at students as a whole.

Wider food bank use

It’s not just students using food banks. From 2010-2025, their use in the UK surged by 5000 percent.

Moreover, 15 percent of UK households are living in food insecurity, effecting eight million adults and three million children. In September, union leaders called on Keir Starmer to put a stop to the issue:

We simply cannot allow food banks to be seen as a normal part of life in the 21st Century. People are already at breaking point. You must tackle food insecurity and end food bank Britain.

With obscene levels of inequality, there’s no place for food bank use in modern Britain.

Featured image via Unsplash/the Canary