One in twenty people in the East Midlands are struggling for food

One in twenty people in the East Midlands are forced to skip meals Credit: PA

One in twenty people in the East Midlands skip meals, sacrifice food to feed families or have relied on others to eat in the last year according to new research.

Research from Marketing Sciences found that:

  • One in twenty people in the East Midlands suffered from food poverty of some sort in the last 12 months.

  • One in a hundred skipped meals.

  • Nearly one in thirty relied on friends and family to provide food for them.

  • Nearly on in five people had changed their eating habits (buying cheaper or eating less) to reduce their food bills.

The research also found increasing concern to be the rising number of parents who are going without food to feed their children.

As part of their Help Feed People In Need scheme, Tesco say their East Midlands stores will be offering food for thousands of local people this Christmas over the weekend.