I have never seen anything like what families are going through now.
I don't know how they're going to cope.
I don't know how they're going to react when there's no food in the fridge.
I don't know what they're going to do when their children doesn't
have breakfast going to school.
We can very, very much say that the cost of living crisis
has hit different parts of the country very, very unequally.
Inflation has predominately affected things which people
with lower incomes spend more on, so that is things like energy and food.
The increased price of basic products have made life very difficult for
the lower income bracket, or the lowest 20% to 40% of earners nationwide.
This is Nick de Stacpoole.
He is a single dad of three and lives
in housing provided by the borough of Chelsea and Kensington.
He relies entirely on Universal Credit for his income, which is paid out monthly
and provided by the government for individuals
who are out of work or living on a low income.
I'm looking for part-time work.
Because I take my two youngest into primary school,
the earliest I could start if I have a job in that area is 9:30am
and then I have to finish at 2:30pm to collect them at 3:10pm.
So that is the problem.
In fact, I haven't come across any jobs yet that are just those tight hours.
I don't have any family, so I have no one to help me.
And the temporary work I'm applying for is mostly close to minimum wage,
which is less than most of the childcare in this borough.
For around a fifth of parents in the UK,
The UK is now one of the most expensive countries for child care in the OECD.
So for those without a decent income,
there is no chance to pay for childcare to be able to go and work.
So the Universal Credit, because I have three children, I get top ups
so it's just over £1,000 a month, which sounds quite a lot.
But, it soon goes because I have the gas and electricity.
The gas, particularly when it's cold, is costing a lot.
Now what I do is I turn the gas on and off.
In December, with gas and electricity prices through the roof,
over 7 million
were going without basics like food and heat.
And 4.7 million were behind on their bills.
Food is crazily expensive.
For instance, the other day we hadn't had ketchup for about a month,
but the children said “come on, let's have ketchup again,
it's nice with the chips.”
The cheapest ketchup I could get was £4.50.
This is where Dads House has really helped.
I go to lunch there once a week,
but also they have a food bank that makes all the difference.
And Billy,
he was a single dad himself,
he set up this charity 15 years ago.
He really helps me because he knows I've got three kids
and I haven't got any other help.
It’s a food bank. It’s not just for single dads,
it’s for anyone in the community.
So, that's probably saving me £600 a month.
So that enables me to stay solvent, but without that, well, our diet would suffer.
We've got roughly between 60,000 and 70,000 families registered.
We've got between 40 and 50 families a day coming to Dads House.
The demand for the work that we do went through the roof,
especially due to the cost of living.
And it's absolutely heartbreaking when you see a mum or a dad
who is absolutely struggling
when it comes to not being able to cook for their children.
of independent food banks say
they saw an increase in demand compared to last year, and
reported supporting a significant number of people needing help for the first time.
We can't plan. It's impossible
because we do not get the financial donations that we did get.
And every day is really difficult to maintain that level.
Sometimes we have had to go into our reserves
to use that to buy food and to provide small grants.
We struggle and it's heartbreaking when you can't give to anyone.
So we'll go to the shops and we'll buy food
and we'll go to the bank and take money from the account so we can give that dad
a little bit of cash, so that he can go and buy food
and he can put £50 in the electric.
When we can’t,
I can't sleep at night.
£1,254 for everything for a month.
Take off at least that £254 for travel.
I've got direct debits, which is £200.
So you're left with £200 a week.
So I take off £50 a week for gas and electricity.
So if you buy no clothes, no toiletries, no medical stuff,
no emergencies, no luxuries, no birthday presents,
you're left with £150 for food.
And if you don't have access to a food bank, that has got to last.
As I said before, if it wasn't for the help I received from Dads House,
it would be extremely difficult and their diet would be affected.
Universal Credit increased around 10% in spring to help with inflation.
Though this provided some relief,
the food insecurity of the past
year is why the UK's leading charities such as the Trussell Trust are petitioning
for an Essentials Guarantee, a way to avoid the increased poverty
and help with basic needs that benefits couldn't cover for so many months.
They say the cost of living crisis has exposed the erosion of UK's benefits system.
So I think what I'm hearing when I'm speaking to people
is that there is support out there, but it could be utilised a lot better.
When you talk to foodbanks, people are really, really worried.
I have asked people repeatedly, like, when do you think it's going to get better?
And there's just this bleak silence.
There’s this kind of question mark.
I'm incredibly grateful for and appreciative
of what you do get help with in this country.
What kind of helps keep you going?
My children.