Caring and Covid-19: Hunger and Mental Wellbeing

Carers UK have published new research on,Caring and Covid-19: Hunger and Mental Wellbeing

The research reveals that:

• More than 100,000 people caring unpaid for older or disabled relatives using foodbanks to get by
• Almost 229,000 unpaid carers have had someone in their household go hungry during lockdown
• Figures paint a worrying picture of unpaid carers under intolerable pressure

Statistical analysis of data collected in April 2020 suggests unpaid carers are twice as likely as the general public to have relied on a food bank during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It shows that 106,000 adults in the UK currently caring for someone outside of their household who is older, disabled or seriously ill, have used a foodbank.

The research, carried out by the Universities of Sheffield and Birmingham in partnership with charity Carers UK, adds to an already worrying picture of unpaid carers facing intolerable pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Carers UK is further emphasising the need for the Government to continue to bring forward schemes that identify carers and help them access food more easily where they have a clear need. It is calling for care and support services to be reinstated as soon as possible so that carers can take a much-needed break from caring, and have better chances of staying in paid work.

To read the report, please click here.