Food banks: benefit sanctions blamed for rising hunger

Government told to do more to achieve a hunger-free Britain by church-backed parliamentary report

Volunteers pack food at a food bank
(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)

Benefit sanctions which result in payments being temporarily stopped or docked are largely responsible for the increase in the use of food banks in the UK, a damning cross-party report has said.

The church-funded inquiry is urging the government to do more to fight food poverty by addressing issues in the benefit system, as more than four million people are at risk of going hungry.

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