Unpaid Carers Are Skipping Meals: The Cost-of-Living Crisis Hits Twice

Caring can erase your budget without warning

Unpaid carers don’t just lose time.

They lose financial stability.

Carers UK’s State of Caring 2024 found carers are increasingly struggling with day-to-day living costs.

The meals that get cut first

When the budget collapses, carers reduce:

• food quality
• food quantity
• heating
• transport
• their own needs

Carers UK highlights that 28% of carers were cutting back on essentials like food and heating (up from 25% in 2022).

That’s not “being careful”.

That’s survival.

Why carers become high-risk households fast

Caring often comes with extra costs:

• travel to appointments
• special diets
• higher laundry/heating needs
• equipment and replacements

Even when carers qualify for support, it rarely matches reality.

Hunger here is quiet and long-term

Carer hunger usually does not show up as crisis overnight.

It shows up as:

• “I’ll eat later”
• “I’ll just snack”
• “I’m not hungry”
• “I’ll make sure they eat first”

That pattern can run for months.

Where Feed & Flow fits

Feed & Flow’s goal is to reinforce food support systems with funding that keeps shelves stocked and services stable.

Carers benefit most from support that is:

• consistent
• local
• quick to access
• connected to wider help

Because carers don’t have free time to “navigate systems”.

What better support actually looks like

Carer-friendly food support usually includes:

• easy pickup windows
• delivery options through local partners
• culturally appropriate staples
• referral-free access where safe

This is operational design, not charity theatre.