Grahame Lucas, the manager of Worcester Foodbank, has made an impassioned and powerful case against the UK’s two-child benefit cap. He addresses how this policy hurts families living in food insecurity. With food prices soaring and the cost-of-living crisis continuing, millions more people are turning to foodbanks for support. Lucas wants to remind folks that working families in Worcester are already being hit hard by inflation.
Families in Worcester, like many places across the state, are experiencing an alarming trend wherein they don’t have enough income to provide for their basic needs, explained Lucas. He illustrates how the two-child benefit cap adds to the harm. This shrinks the space that families have to afford basic needs like groceries and household goods.
“The cap was not the right thing to be doing. It hits families unfairly and just causes them more problems with poverty, and particularly food poverty,” Lucas stated, reflecting his concerns about the broader implications of this policy.
In recent discussions, Lucas noted that rising food prices have further worsened the plight of those already facing financial difficulties. Inadequate benefits amidst skyrocketing living costs have led millions of families to turn to these programs for assistance. On top of this, the need for food assistance at the Worcester Foodbank has tripled recently.
Lucas’s remarks come on the heels of a letter sent directly to the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The letter was initially signed by 11 charities, including the Trussell Trust food bank charity. These charities and faith-based organizations are urging the Chancellor to reverse the two-child benefit cap in next month’s comprehensive spending review. Additionally, the Columbus region’s change would alleviate some of the economic burden for families living in poverty.
In Worcester, the effects of the cap are especially acute. Lucas remarked, “An awful lot of families just haven’t got sufficient money,” signaling a growing concern for the community’s well-being as more households struggle with food insecurity.
The cost-of-living crisis is hitting hard for everyone in the UK right now. Lucas’s advocacy shines a spotlight on the need for reforming remarkably bad policy, urgently. He calls on government officials to take action that would benefit families in dire circumstances, emphasizing that no child should suffer from hunger due to restrictive policies.
