‘I cried the first time I went to a food bank but LGBTQ+ people like me have no choice’

One trans woman said she ‘cried’ when she first visited a food bank (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

LGBTQ+ people in the UK are more than two times more likely to go to bed hungry, data shared exclusively with Metro shows.

The Trussell Trust, Britain’s largest network of food banks, found that one in three (34%) queer people experienced food insecurity in 2023.

This was double the rate of those not part of the LGBTQ+ community, at 15%, according to the charity’s Hunger in the UK survey, released today.

Food insecurity is when someone does not have reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food for a healthy life.

Often, people who experience food insecurity turn to food banks to get by, with one in 12 people (8%) referred to Trussell food banks being queer.

In comparison, roughly 4% of people in the UK identify as part of the community, census data shows.

Trans woman skipped two meals every day to get by

Among them is Zoey Salsinha (not her real name), a Portuguese trans woman living in the Greater Manchester area.

All the NHS Trust worker, 42, knew about food banks when she first moved to the UK in 2008 was that the nation has more of them than McDonald’s.

But in 2022, food banks became a lifeline for her.

She spent 10 months surviving with just £40 – £50 at a push – each month for groceries after the Russia-Ukraine war caused petrol prices to spike.

Zoey had to drive about 30 miles from Preston to Manchester five times a week for work, costing her £320 a month at the pump.

‘I couldn’t just cut Netflix and avocadoes,’ she tells Metro. ‘I didn’t have the bank of mum and dad to run off to, and my partner passed away in 2021.

Food bank usage has been rising for years (Picture: Getty Images)

‘It was devastating and heartbreaking, but it was also the person I could rely on – I couldn’t rely on my transphobic dad, and my mum had died.

‘The first time I went to a food bank, I cried. I felt the tears swelling up, and a lady said, “It’s okay, have you ever used a food bank before?” I said, and she tried to almost pat me on the head and say, It’s okay, it’s normal.’

The roughly 1,400 Trussell-run food banks in the UK rely on donations, offering vulnerable people emergency packages of essentials.

Trusell Trust has distributed 2.9million parcels over the last five years, a 51% increase. Of them, 1million was for children.

Zoey said she rarely, if ever, had breakfast or lunch in 2022. Dinners were mainly carbs, like rice or crackers, and canned chicken.

‘Not necessarily like nutrient-rich kind of foods, because by the time you get there, you’d be lucky to find good greens,’ she adds. ‘I used my £40 to top up with healthy bits and bobs to last me four, five weeks.’

Worries about her next meal, whether she’d be able to get to work and the loss of her partner exacerbated her depression and anxiety, she said.

Trussell Trust found that eight in 10 LGBTQ+ people referred to food banks had a mental health condition, compared to 58% of straight people.

Women and people of colour were also far more likely to be referred to a food bank, at 34% and 38% respectively. (People can be referred to food banks by council officials, health practitioners and Citizens Advice.)

To make matters worse, her home life was insecure too.

‘It was my colleagues/friends who saved me,’ Zoey says. ‘They took me into their spare bedroom in late 2022, they’d buy me Tesco meal deals so I could have food in my stomach before 5pm.’

Zoey said it’s a ‘privilege’ to be able to financially rely on family members – almost half of LGBTQ+ young people are estranged from a loved one, according to the charity Just Like Us.

Why are LGBTQ+ people more likely to experience food insecurity?

LGBTQ+ people are at a far greater risk of discrimination at work (Picture: Getty Images Europe)

There are many reasons why, explains Tom Montrose-Moss, head of insights and performance at the LGBT Foundation, a health charity that supported the report.

‘Food insecurity is often a symptom of broader instability, typically related to employment, debt, and mental distress,’ he says.

‘For LGBTQ+ people, experiences of insecurity can be accelerated because of societal homo/bi/transphobia.’

LGBTQ+ people, on average, earn less than their straight, cisgender colleagues and are more likely to live in poverty and claim benefits.

The community is also more likely to experience discrimination at work, Montrose-Moss says, making job-hopping and shaky incomes common.

As queer people’s lives while on the clock grow unreliable, this can spell trouble for their relationships, ‘sometimes leading to domestic abuse’.

Zoey said she was only left with about £40 each month to spend on groceries (Picture: AFP)

‘The insecurities experienced at home then feed into our ability to stay in employment, perpetuating a vicious cycle that is hard to escape,’ he adds.

‘When food insecurity is added into the mix, this can intensify our poor mental and physical health, making it even more difficult for us to improve our lives and escape broader insecurities.’

Trussell’s survey found that LGBTQ+ people who use food banks were more likely to be unpaid carers, with 47% of LGBTQ+ carers being food insecure, compared to 29% who do not provide unpaid care.

Nearly two in 10 (18%) of the LGBTQ+ people surveyed had experienced homelessness.

Trussell is calling for the government to recognise the queer community as an inclusion group, which refers to people who tend to have poor health.

Government health officials develop targeted policies to support inclusive groups, which include sex workers, modern slavery victims and people with substance abuse disorders.

Food parcels typically contain items like pasta, canned vegetables and toilet paper (Picture: Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Helen Barnard, director of policy at Trussell, says queer people worrying about their next meal should reach out to their local food bank.

The services don’t just provide food, she says, they provide people who would otherwise feel alone or excluded with a support network.

‘Food banks are for everyone and whatever your background, identity or circumstances,’ she adds, ‘you’ll always receive a warm welcome because that’s just what food banks do.’

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

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