One in five British families struggle for food?

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IANS | 06 May, 2013
One in five British families had to borrow money or use savings to cover food costs in April, a new survey showed Sunday.

Participated by about 2,000 people across Britain and conducted by the British consumer group 'Which?', the survey found that some 5 million British households needed to use credit or savings to cover their spending on food in April, Xinhua reported.

The Which? monthly consumer insight tracker survey discovered that many of the families using credit and savings to pay for food were low-income.

"They are likely to be financially vulnerable and are typically aged 30-49 years old with children. Nearly half of these families are on the lowest incomes, earning 21,000 pounds (about $32,680) or less per year," said Which?.

"With food prices rising last year, it isn't surprising that shoppers tell us that the cost of food is one of their top three worries," it said.

According to the survey, eight in 10 of the struggling households say they are worried about food prices.

More than half say they plan to cut back spending on food in the coming months. However, others feel they are not able to cut back when trying to feed their households.

The consumer group found that almost one-third, or 31 percent, of people surveyed cut-back spending on essentials last month.

Over two-thirds, or 68 percent, described the state of the economy as poor, with just 9 percent saying it was good.

"I was shocked by these findings. I didn't realise so many people can't afford to cover their monthly food bill, said Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.