Three-quarters of people accessing food support are women, survey suggests

The cost-of-living crisis is disproportionately affecting women, a food charity said, as it reported “staggering” findings that more than three quarters of people responding to its survey on food bank access were female.

The data from FareShare, which aims to tackle food waste to support social good, also showed that just over a third (37%) of people accessing food support were employed.

Some 76% of the 2,619 respondents to research by FareShare were women, 67% of all those surveyed were aged between 35 and 64, and 71% of the total were white British.

The organisation said the findings on women ranged from older women dealing with loneliness and isolation, single parents with additional caring responsibilities, or working mothers trying to stretch household budgets to feed their families.

This survey paints a stark picture of a crisis that shows no signs of easing. The fact that almost eight out of 10 people accessing food from FareShare via local charities are women is staggering

The results were from a survey of people across the UK who receive food from FareShare through a nationwide network of 8,500 charities and community groups.

Just over half (51%) of all respondents had lives limited by a health problem or condition, 59% were claiming state benefits (including tax credits) and 63% identified themselves as low income, although the charity said this is likely to be an under-representation.

George Wright, chief executive of FareShare, said: “This survey paints a stark picture of a crisis that shows no signs of easing.

“The fact that almost eight out of 10 people accessing food from FareShare via local charities are women is staggering.

“We can clearly see that the food FareShare redistributes is having a substantial social impact. Charities across the UK are turning food into much needed community support and giving people a vital hand up.”