Food network chair outlines concerns over cost of living as figures show extent of child poverty in Leeds

By Tom Coates
Published 23rd Jul 2022, 04:45 BST
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The chair of the Leeds Food Aid Network has outlined concerns about the cost of living crisis and the extent of child poverty in Leeds.

Recent figures released by End Child Poverty stated that over a third of children in the city are living in poverty, which amounts to 54,273 babies, children and young people.

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Dave Paterson is heavily involved with supporting people in poverty as part of his role with the Leeds Food Aid Network and has detailed how rising prices are creating challenging situations for families.

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The country is currently in the grip of a cost of living crisis. Image: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesThe country is currently in the grip of a cost of living crisis. Image: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
The country is currently in the grip of a cost of living crisis. Image: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “The cost of living is huge, you’ve basically got people just getting tipped over the edge.

"It's not easy to bring up children at the best of times but when you've got inflation and when you've got other staple food prices going up, it's really, really challenging and concerning.

"I think people might be starting to just about trying to get over the initial shock and get through the summer, it probably helps when you've got warmer temperatures.

“That means families might be able to ride things out until the end of September but once you get into the autumn and winter, we're going to see another hike in gas and electric prices and it's really challenging.”