UK Faces Food Shortages Ahead of Holidays - How Can You Help?

• Food prices reached a new high this November. Staples like bread, milk, and meat became increasingly expensive due to a confluence of factors from inflation, supply chain ruptures, the energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine, which had the most impact.

The facts on UK's food shortages

• The British Retail Consortium declared that residents should prepare for a "bleak winter."
• Corporate chains like Aldi, Tesco, and Lidl are limiting the number of eggs each customer can buy in light of an egg shortage created by the rising costs of both energy and animal feed. Eggs are 27% more expensive than they were at the beginning of the year. 
• An avian flu outbreak has also affected egg stocks, decimating poultry just ahead of the holidays. Out of a supply of 9 million birds, over 1 million died or had to be killed due to the disease.
• Energy prices are having a notable effect on the costs of growing fruits and vegetables, with production costs rising by about 27% since the beginning of this year.
• Potato prices have risen 20% and could increase to 40% this winter due to the strain that the summer's uncharacteristically hot days put on crops.

How can you help?

• You can donate to the Trussell Trust, which aids and operates food banks across Britain. They are currently giving out an emergency food parcel every 13 seconds.
• Donate directly to collection tubs set up in supermarkets to help meet the growing demand for food donations if you are a UK resident. 

—Emma Kansiz

(Photo credit: iStock/yongtick)