Getty ImagesA record 9.3 million people – including one in five children – are facing hunger and hardship in the UK, according to an anti-poverty charity.
This is one million more than five years ago, the Trussell Trust said in a new report.
The charity said almost a quarter of children under four face hunger and hardship, making them the age group most at risk.
Unless changes are made by the government, a further 425,000 people, including 170,000 children, are projected to fall into this category by 2027, it said.
A government spokesperson told the BBC that “no child should be in poverty”.
The report, The Cost of Hunger and Hardship, was published on Wednesday.
Trussell Trust worked with economic and public policy experts WPI Economics to analyse government data.
It found that one in seven people across the UK face hunger and hardship and one in five children are growing up under these circumstances.
This means that 46% more children are facing hunger and hardship than two decades ago.
More than half of people currently facing hardship are living in a disabled family, the report said.
The Trussell Trust said a total of 32% of people in single-parent families face hunger and hardship, and children under four face the highest risk of being in this situation of any age group at 24%.
Having employment is not a reliable route out of hardship, the report concluded, with 58% of people facing hunger and hardship living in a family where someone is working.
The rate of hunger and hardship is highest for people living in Black, African, Caribbean, or Black British families at 28%, compared to 11% for people living in White families, the report said.
The charity is calling on the government to ensure that Universal Credit always covers the basic necessities.
It also called for the Local Housing Allowance to be kept in line with affordable local rents.
Scrapping the two-child benefit cap would also reduce the number of people facing hunger and hardship by 9%, or 825,000 people, it said.
Helen Barnard, director of policy, research and impact at Trussell Trust, said one in seven people facing hunger and hardship “should not be the case in one of the richest countries in the world”.
“We need urgent action on hunger in the UK because, if nothing changes, the number of people facing hunger and hardship will only increase,” she said.
“People are turning to food banks because they don’t have enough money to live on. But we know it doesn’t have to be this way.”
A government spokesperson said it was “taking action” through a new Child Poverty Taskforce, which is “developing an ambitious strategy to give children the best start in life”.
“Alongside this, we have extended the Household Support Fund to support the most vulnerable this winter and have committed to reviewing Universal Credit while we deliver on our plan to tackle inequality and make work pay to deliver opportunity across Britain,” the spokesperson said.