What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

University of Liverpool researchers have published the first-ever peer-reviewed study of workers using foodbanks in the U.K. The study, published in the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, found that the primary reason for workers turning to emergency and community food support is the poor quality of available employment.

The research by the University's Professor Lydia Hayes and Feeding Liverpool's Dr. Naomi Maynard engaged with people using foodbanks and food pantries in Liverpool.

They found that 65% of participants, including 76% of those of working age, identified that the root causes of their food insecurity were jobs offering uncertain hours and insufficient pay; incompatibility of insecure jobs with the demands of parenting; and high levels of mental stress arising from poor quality employment.

It was in these circumstances that the inadequacy of welfare support then assumed enormous significance for workers struggling to manage on low incomes.

The research also found that post-pandemic welfare laws are interacting with inadequate employment rights to embed the risk of food insecurity in agreements to work in low-wage sectors.

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