Meet the mums on hunger strike, find out when the cost of living crisis is predicted to end, and see what happens when a dad tries to make real-life renditions of his children's drawings.

Good morning. Thursday already? Congrats on making it a good way through another week in the cost of living crisis. Let me start this week’s newsletter by saying you are doing great. You deserve a medal. A trophy. Dare I say it, you deserve a pay rise and some meaningful support from the government.

I’m Isabella McRae, the Big Issue’s cost of living reporter. It was announced yesterday that inflation reached 10.4 per cent in February, in news which came as a shock to economists who had predicted that inflation would continue falling through this year. If they'd been paying attention to their weekly shop it would probably have been less surprising, as food prices were found to have risen by nearly 20 per cent since last February, the fastest rate in 45 years.

The lack of tomatoes, peppers and other fresh veg on our shelves was the leading driver, as unusually warm weather in Spain last year led to a lower harvest and Brexit meant Britain was lower on the priority list. 

The Guardian has coined it a salad crisis (what else?), with recent food shortages taking their toll in February as suppliers charged more for the produce they had. 

The prices of some everyday groceries have more than doubled over the last year, according to Which?, and this will have a disproportionate impact on the poorest households, partly because low-income families tend to spend a greater chunk of their income on essentials.

For people whose next meal may come from food banks and community kitchens, the impact of rising prices is even harsher – as is expertly explained by Carol Wagstaff in The Conversation. Without food surplus, there can be no food aid and the organisations which are a lifeline to so many people will not be able to cope.

It might all sound bleak, but don’t forget there is help out there if you need it. We have a huge guide to cost of living help here, as well as help for your mental health, how to get support for your energy bills and how to find and donate to a food bank near you. All of that and more is in our winter survival guide. 

Here’s more on inflation and everything else you need to know this week… 

Need to know basis

🛒  Panic at the checkout. With inflation up again, find out how much your pay needs to rise to beat it here and whether the cost of living crisis is ever going to come to an end here. Spoiler alert: we’re in it for the long haul, but there is an end in sight. 

There’s also this useful explainer in the BBC: does the UK have an inflation problem? It explains why inflation is so high and why it is affecting the UK more than most large economies across Europe and the US. 

🪧 Mums on hunger strike. A group of mums have been on hunger strike since Mother’s Day to draw attention to food poverty and parents skipping meals to feed their children. Meet them here. 

🧠 On my mind. Hannah Westwater writes about the cost of living crisis’ toll on mental health in the UK, and how there is a vicious cycle between poverty and mental illness. If you need help coping with the cost of living crisis, you can find advice from the UK’s leading mental health charities here. Help is out there if you need it. 

🔧 Survival toolkit. Check out our ever-growing guide to all the cost of living help available from the government, charities, energy suppliers and local councils. It’s got everything from finding cheap childcare to free loo rolls, and you can just click the links to be directed to the section that’s relevant to you. We’ve also updated our energy bills help guide with the latest details around support following the Spring Budget. 

⚖️ Sanctions surge. The IPPR think tank has warned that the rate of universal credit claimants experiencing sanctions has risen rapidly. Claimants in the north east of England are almost a third more likely to be sanctioned than someone in the South West. Is this levelling up? 

💭 Many, many thoughts. YouGov polling reveals what the general public actually thinks about how the government is handling the cost of living crisis. Unsurprisingly, people who are worse off think that politicians’ policies aren’t doing enough to help them through. A reminder that if you want your views published by the Big Issue, you can write to us here. 

☁️ Fantasy land. The Big Issue’s founder Lord Bird dreams of a world where poverty is history and what it would take for us to get there. He thinks it is time the government declares a war on poverty. 

📱 TikTok shoppertainment. This is a great read from Iona Bain at The Guardian: is TikTok’s sales model pushing Gen Z into debt? #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt videos have been viewed more than 40 billion times. It’s especially interesting when you think about it alongside the general boom in advertisers exploiting anxieties over the cost of living.  

On a cheery note

Britain’s first mega charity shop has launched to incredible success. It is paving the way in the fight against fast fashion and every penny has gone towards social good. Charity Super.Mkt ran for six weeks in Brent Cross’s former Topshop store and sold more than 40,000 garments. As of tomorrow, it is moving on to the former home of the old Topshop in Reading. 

It was started by Wayne Hemingway, founder of iconic fashion brand Red or Dead and Hemingway Designs, and Maria Chenoweth, chief executive of sustainable clothing charity TRAID. I spoke to them here. 

Saving those coins

Are you an NHS, care or emergency worker (or do you have a friend who is)? Many companies offer special discounts for NHS staff and healthcare workers. MoneySavingExpert has a guide to all of those and it's well worth a look. You can get 10 per cent off at Asda, 25 per cent of at Pizza Hut and free Joe Wicks. 

Anyone doing something inspiring in your community or know about a cool initiative getting people through the cost of living crisis? Let me know on isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com

Dates for your diary 📅

March 25. Join Right To Food Southwark: Hunger March. People will march in south London from Southwark to Peckham to protest rising food costs. 12pm, Band stand in Southwark Park, Gomm Road SE16 2TX.

March 27. New Thinking to Transform a Society in Crisis. A series of discussions led by Labour MP John McDonnell, presenting “innovative ideas to shake up this status quo”. 7pm, House of Commons.

March 28. Introducing London's cost of living tracker. WPI Economics and Trust for London present new analysis on the impact of rising costs on Londoners. 2:30pm, online.

March 30. Unequal futures: addressing poverty, health and inequality for young people. This Centre for Cities event will explore the links between poverty, poor health outcomes and economic inactivity in young people. 12pm, online. 

April 1. The national living wage and minimum wage increases for all ages. 

Catch up 📺

Are we doomed to repeat the cost of living crisis? This harrowing archive film captures decades of film footage from across Yorkshire and the North East showing how little has changed over the years. It is a fascinating watch and says a lot in just 15 minutes. 

Sunny side up

This dad recreates his children’s drawings of animals. Adorable or disturbing? I’m undecided.