LONELINESS is fuelling the surge in the millions of people resorting to foodbanks alongside poverty, research by a think-tank revealed yesterday.

Polling by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found that foodbank users are significantly lonelier than the general public, with one in five lacking any family or friends for support.

The research claims the government’s £200 million annual subsidy for food aid risks fostering dependency.

Instead, it calls for a shift in focus to tackling poverty’s root causes.

The Labour Party previously described mass reliance on emergency food parcels as a “moral scar on our society” in its general election manifesto.

CSJ senior researcher Josh Nicholson said: “We need to look far more closely at the root causes of why foodbank use is increasing.

“It’s not all about income and the welfare system can’t provide all the solutions.

“During the first year of the pandemic, real incomes for the poorest 20 per cent of the population went up – but so did recourse to foodbanks.”

Mr Nicholson said there was a “danger of institutionalising emergency food aid” in Britain.

“The government’s manifesto commitment to end mass dependence means they must tackle the root causes of foodbanks,” he said.

“One of these is loneliness and social isolation.

“In their traditional format, focused solely on the distribution of free food, foodbanks can only address the symptoms of failing social and economic life.”

The CSJ report said foodbank use reached a record 2.3 million people in 2022-23, up 200,000 from the previous year.

First Love Foundation chief executive Denise Bentley said: “When I first established a foodbank in Tower Hamlets in 2010, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country, I believed we were addressing the urgent and visible issue of hunger.

“However, it quickly became evident that hunger was merely a symptom of a far deeper crisis.

“Many of those who sought our help had endured months, and in some cases years, without income, navigating a system that repeatedly failed to meet their needs.

“Their challenges extended far beyond material deprivation to include profound social isolation and the erosion of their dignity.”

She said that ending foodbank dependency requires “tackling financial hardship alongside hidden drivers like loneliness, social isolation, and systemic failures.”