People 'eating pet food' and 'heating meals on radiators and candles' as families struggle with soaring costs
1 December 2022, 20:23 | Updated: 1 December 2022, 20:27
People have been forced to eat pet food, while others try to heat food on radiators, a community worker with 20 years' experience has said, as households struggle in the cost-of-living crisis.
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Mark Seed, who runs a community food project in Trowbridge, east Cardiff, and says the pockets of deprivation in the city are "unacceptable".
"I'm still shocked by the fact that we have people who are eating pet food," he said.
"[There are] people who are trying to heat their food on a radiator or a candle.
"These are shocking kind of stories that are actually the truth."
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"Cardiff is a flourishing city however there are pockets of deprivation which are simply not acceptable," he told the BBC.
Mr Seed said the pay people are getting isn't enough to afford the essentials, with the cost of living crisis is pushing prices way up "so that everybody is squeezed or they just can't afford it".
"What they are telling us is that they are working every hour they can," he added.
The Pantry offers good quality food at budget prices for over 160 members.
Elizabeth Williams, 54, is one of them, and said the project "makes a lot of difference" and brings people together but that times were still hard.
"I usually go without to try to make things better in my house," she said.
With Brits facing a cost of living crisis, recent figures showed inflation exceeding expectation to hit a new 41-year high of 11.1 per cent, and experts have warned of worse to come.
Rising food and energy costs are thought to be major contributors to the surge.
New inflation figures show the price of staple household items such as butter, meat, milk, bread, and cheese increased by up to 42 per cent last month, the highest rates for over 20 years.
Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics has estimated that the average UK household is now forking out 88.9 per cent more for heating and lighting than last year.
