FOOD workers are going cold and hungry due to poor pay as they provide for the rest of the country, new research revealed today.

The report by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) found that workers in the industry were struggling to afford food and to heat their homes, and that they were in need of an urgent pay rise.

Since its last survey in 2021, the number of food workers relying on food banks has increased from 7 per cent to 17 per cent.