CONSTITUENTS in York Central have shared their fears about the rise in cost of living, which has one area with low access to affordable food.

Researchers from University of Leeds and Which? ranked areas in England on how likely they were to need support to access affordable food, based on factors such as income and the number of children on free school meals.

Their study revealed that one of York Central’s 62 neighbourhoods was ranked within the worst 20 per cent for food affordability across England.

Two York Central constituents, Madeleine Castro, who works in higher education, and is married with two children, and Elizabeth Sunderland, 64, who is living on one wage, have shared their thoughts on the cost of living crisis.

Elizabeth said: "I feel very overwhelmed by everything happening at the moment. I worry about heating my home and buying food."

Madeleine said: "I'm angry about how unjust it all is and incandescent that at least some of it is avoidable.

"Councils, housing associations, private landlords and mortgage lenders need to be aware that this is going to hit people very hard and some won't be able to pay."

Earlier this week (Novemeber 24) Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, called for a housing debate in Parliament to speak on housing poverty.

Ms Maskell said: "Every day, I am hearing of how the cost-of-living scandal is impacting on people in York. It was for this reason that I led the Warm Clothes initiative and will be collecting toys for children next month.

"Families simply do not have enough to live on, people are going hungry and bills cannot be paid. 

"York is also hit with a housing crisis where the cost of accommodation in York has reached London prices and local people are being frisked for all they have to pay for a roof over their head.

"When Government fails to meet people’s basic needs, there is something fundamentally wrong.”

Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and the North West all had more than 30 per cent of areas in the lowest fifth for food affordability.

The North East had the worst access, with 45 per cent of areas affected, while London and the South East had the best access, with four and seven per cent respectively. 

The Trussell Trust foodbank charity said that more than 86,500 emergency food parcels were provided across Yorkshire from April to September 2022, an 18 per cent rise on last year.

More than 23,000 were resorting to food banks for the first time.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has declared that the benefit cap line will be raised in line with inflation rates from April.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: "Food banks are at breaking point, experiencing record levels of need and this is likely to rise.

"Many people are in financial crisis and, for them, April will feel very far away.

"Rising costs and historically low levels of social security mean that, despite the support provided so far, thousands of people are already having to go without the essentials.

"The Government must urgently consider how to bridge the gap between the November Cost of Living payment and the uprating of benefit in April.”