In a country that prides itself on fairness and compassion, thousands of unpaid carers are facing an impossible choice every day: feed the person they care for, or feed themselves.

The evidence gathered by the Right to Food Commission paints a stark picture of a hidden crisis. Across the UK, unpaid carers are skipping meals, relying on food banks, buying cheaper and less nutritious food, and sacrificing their own wellbeing to ensure the people they support do not go without.

A Crisis Hidden Behind Closed Doors

Food poverty is often discussed in terms of statistics and economics. Yet the voices captured by the Right to Food UK Commission reveal a far more personal reality.

People spoke about weighing up the cost of a bus fare against a meal, being unable to afford the energy needed to cook food, and feeling ashamed to ask for help. The Commission heard repeatedly that food security is about more than simply having food available. It is about having the ability, facilities, income and dignity to eat properly. As one contributor put it: “Food security means meals, not just ingredients.”

For unpaid carers, this reality is often magnified by the financial penalties that come with caring.

The Price of Caring

The Commission heard from carers who described giving up their own meals when money ran short. Bristol Women’s Voice reported that 12% of unpaid carers in Bristol experience moderate or severe food insecurity compared to a city average of 7.9%. The consultation also found that carers often see food as the foundation of care itself, yet regularly sacrifice their own share when there is not enough to go around.

The evidence is even more alarming when caring for disabled family members.

One carer described supporting a non-verbal son whose needs resulted in significantly higher household costs. The family faced increased energy consumption, specialist food requirements and the additional expense of disability-related living costs. In order to cope financially, the carer went without food herself, losing a significant amount of weight.

Another participant captured the reality many carers face:

“As a carer I’ve gone without food.”

This is not an isolated story. It is part of a wider pattern where unpaid carers absorb the impact of an inadequate system by sacrificing their own health.

Food Banks Are Not the Answer

For many carers, food banks have become a last resort. Yet the Commission found that food aid often fails to meet people’s actual needs.

Food parcels may contain food that cannot be cooked, food that does not meet dietary requirements, or food that requires time and energy carers simply do not have. Disabled people and carers reported receiving food they could not eat, access or prepare. Others spoke about food banks being located too far away, having complicated referral systems, or operating in ways that felt humiliating and stigmatising.

One participant summed it up powerfully:

“Food shouldn’t be something you desperately seek; it should be something you have.”

The problem is not a lack of charity. The problem is that charity has become a substitute for a rights-based approach.

The Extra Costs Nobody Sees

Unpaid carers face financial pressures that many policymakers fail to recognise.

Higher energy bills, specialist diets, transport costs, disability-related expenses and reduced opportunities for paid work all combine to make food insecurity more likely. The Disability Poverty Campaign Group reported that more than half of parents and carers of disabled children have skipped meals or reduced portion sizes because of financial pressures.

The Commission also heard that carers are often trapped by systems that assume everyone can travel easily, shop independently and prepare meals from scratch. For many carers, particularly those supporting people with complex needs, these assumptions simply do not reflect reality.

Dignity, Not Dependency

Throughout the evidence, one message came through again and again: people do not want handouts. They want dignity.

Participants called for adequate incomes, accessible support, affordable food, stronger social security and a legal Right to Food that would place responsibility on government rather than charity. Disabled people and carers argued that food security should be embedded within carers’ assessments and health and social care systems, ensuring support arrives before people reach crisis point.

The Commission heard repeated calls to move away from emergency food parcels towards community-based solutions that prioritise choice, dignity and proper meals. As one participant put it:

“Change it so we have meal banks not food banks.”

Caring Should Not Mean Going Hungry

Unpaid carers save society billions of pounds every year. They provide care that sustains families, communities and public services. Yet too many are struggling to afford the most basic necessity of all: food.

The evidence from the Right to Food UK Commission shows that this is not a problem of personal failure. It is a consequence of low incomes, rising living costs and systems that expect carers to absorb the pressures that the state fails to address.

If we truly value unpaid carers, we must move beyond warm words and recognition days. We must ensure that nobody is forced to skip a meal in order to care for someone they love.

Because food justice is care justice.

And no carer should ever have to choose between caring and eating.

Solutions: Moving Beyond Food Banks and Towards Food Security

The stories gathered by theRight to Food Commission make one thing clear: unpaid carers do not need more charity. They need a system that prevents them from going hungry in the first place. Throughout the Commission’s work, carers, disabled people, community organisations and frontline services proposed practical solutions that would tackle the root causes of food insecurity rather than simply responding to crisis.

Ensure Carers Have Enough Income to Live On

The strongest and most consistent recommendation was the need for an adequate income. Carers repeatedly highlighted that food insecurity is driven by low incomes, rising living costs and the financial penalties associated with caring responsibilities. Many are forced to reduce working hours or leave employment altogether, while the additional costs of disability and caring continue to rise.

A genuine solution would include a substantial increase in financial support for carers, a social security system that reflects the real costs of caring, and a guaranteed minimum income that ensures nobody is left unable to afford the essentials of life.

Embed Food Security into Carers’ Assessments

One of the most important recommendations from disabled people and carers was simple: ask the question before a crisis occurs.

Food security should become a recognised part of carers’ assessments and social care assessments. Local authorities and health services should have a duty to identify when carers are struggling to afford food and provide support before hunger becomes a safeguarding issue. Participants also stressed that needing help to buy food should never be viewed as evidence of neglect or poor parenting.

Create a Legal Right to Food

Many contributors argued that food should be treated as a legal right rather than a matter of charity or goodwill.

A legal Right to Food would place clear responsibilities on governments and public bodies to ensure people can access affordable, nutritious food. Crucially, it would create accountability when systems fail and provide people with a means of challenging decisions that leave them hungry. Participants repeatedly stated that rights must be enforceable and backed by action, not simply written into legislation without meaningful implementation.

Replace Food Banks with Dignified Community Food Systems

The Commission heard widespread frustration that food banks have become a permanent feature of modern Britain.

Instead, people called for investment in community food hubs, food co-operatives, social supermarkets, community kitchens and affordable restaurants where people can access food without shame. These models allow individuals to choose food that meets their dietary, cultural and personal needs while maintaining dignity and independence.

As one participant argued, the goal should be “meal banks, not food banks” because a bag of ingredients is of little value if someone lacks the energy, facilities or time to cook.

Recognise the Extra Costs of Disability and Caring

For many unpaid carers, food insecurity is inseparable from disability-related costs.

The Commission heard evidence about higher energy bills, specialist diets, transport costs and expensive food requirements. Some families need specific brands of food due to sensory needs, allergies or medical conditions, while others face significant delivery charges because they cannot shop independently.

Future policy must recognise these realities. Support should reflect the actual cost of disability and caring rather than relying on average household spending patterns that fail to capture the lived experience of carers.

Build Services Around Dignity and Trust

Perhaps the most important lesson from the Commission is that dignity matters.

People described experiences of being interrogated before receiving help, navigating complex referral systems and feeling judged for seeking support. The most successful services were those that treated people with respect, offered choice and built relationships rather than creating barriers.

For carers already carrying enormous responsibilities, support should be simple to access, available locally and designed around people’s lives rather than administrative processes.

A Call for Action

If unpaid carers are expected to continue holding families, communities and public services together, then society must stop expecting them to carry the burden of food poverty too.

The solutions already exist. They came directly from carers, disabled people and communities across the UK. They include adequate incomes, stronger rights, accessible support, community-led food systems and a commitment to dignity.

The question is not whether we know how to solve this problem.

The question is whether we are willing to act before more carers are forced to sit at their kitchen tables and decide that once again, they will be the one who goes without dinner.