Muammar Al Khadafi

As cutbacks bite, the cost of everything increases - it seems hardly a day goes by when we don't notice some essential foodstuff has gone up a few pence, or stayed the same price but decreased in size/weight - charity Fareshare, which distributes surpluses from the food industry, is reporting a sharp rise in demand.

From its food reaching 29,000 people a day in 2010, the figure has now climbed to 35,000 a day currently.

Despite the increasing demand, a sure sign that poverty is a rising blight in the UK, Fareshare reports that one in three charities it surveyed are facing government funding cuts.

Based on responses from organisations supplied by Fareshare, 65% are cutting their food budgets in an effort to stay afloat.

It's the inevitable result of a stagnant economy, rising prices, and a government which insists it will not balance the books off the backs of the worlds poorest people - yet seems to think balancing them off the backs of Britains poorest is perfectly acceptable.

The cost of living is much higher, a daily reality for many people in the UK is the fight just to get by, a choice of what to go without today. Hunger is becoming an increasing factor in so called first world Britain.

Remember old Band Aid song, Feed the World? Seems we can't even feed Britain, we're busy trying to feed the world whilst more and more people at home are being forced to rely on charities in order to eat.

Surely something is seriously amiss there, we've got something wrong if the Department for International Development can gloat that, for example, they provided "Food aid for 1.36 million people" in Ethiopia, paid for by you, whilst charities such as Fareshare are providing 8.6 million meals and rising every year for people in the UK.

We feed the world, and those in charge are oblivious to the rising hunger at home.

Hunger will, once again, become the daily companion of many Brits as prices continue to rise far beyond incomes, and government does nothing save for preach the need for cutbacks at home whilst trying to feed the rest of the world.

Benefit claimants who cannot afford food will be referred to charity food banks by Job Centres as poverty in Britain continues to increase.

The scheme, which brings to mind startling images of soup kitchens and the great depression, will see the Trussell Trust dealing with referred benefits claimants, who can get food for three days.

Demand on the Trussell Trust, a Christian charity, is increasing at an alarming rate - it currently operates 70 food banks, and is set to open another 60 food banks over the next 6 months.

It is estimated that they will provide food for somewhere in the region of 100,000 people this year.

Poverty UK, where people must rely on charity in order to eat, it's a damning indictment of societies failings when these conditions can exist in modern Britain, and the government does nothing save for refer people to charity.

100,000 people reliant on charity to eat within Britain really is a terrible statistic, what a ruined nation we have become. With our ever growing population it will only get worse as well.

Is that the Big Society in action, where government knows there's a big problem but it's not their problem, charities can pick up the pieces of our ruined nation?

Meanwhile though, providing food for abroad, paid for using taxpayer money, appears to be no problem.

Just one recent post on the Department for International Development website tells us that we're providing food for 1.36 million people in Ethiopia, 800,000 in Somalia, and hundreds of thousands more people in Kenya.

We've people going hungry and reliant on charity in the UK, and the numbers are increasing - yet, the UK taxpayer is paying for millions of people abroad to eat.

Does that make sense?

Hunger at home, food for abroad, is that a pledge any party would campaign on?

They ought to, because that's the reality of the Britain around us today, feeding the world but failing our own people.

Poverty and hunger is fast becoming a feature of modern Britain, and yet the politicians eyes - and our money - are elsewhere.

Whilst people in Britain go hungry and are saved from starvation only by the intervention of charity it is clear that we have got our priorities completely wrong, and that there is something fundamentally broken with us as a nation and a society.