Politicians say you can make a meal for 30p – you can’t. Are they feeding their kids porridge for dinner?

theguardian.com:

I’m in my 40s and have two children, both of whom have autism. Five days a week, I volunteer at a local food bank. I’ve also been a food bank user. We live on universal credit, so I understand the pressures people who visit are under.

I’ve always managed, I’ve never felt poor, but it’s getting harder. When I opened my energy bill, I thought it was a mistake. It has gone from £66 to £95, and they expect it to go up to about £150. I can’t afford to visit my child at university; I can’t remember the last time I went out recreationally. This week, I had to spend more than usual on my bus pass so I could go and get my eyes checked, so now it means mostly eating food with reduced stickers on it. My washing machine is on its last legs, and I keep thinking “please don’t break”, because there isn’t money there to replace it. I’m frugal and I know how to make things stretch, but there’s only so far you can go.

When I was 19, I got pregnant and became a single parent. My second child was born prematurely and went through years of hospital checks; later both children, who are now in their late teens and 20s, were diagnosed with autism. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to work, but I’ve never been able to find a job that would allow me to care for my children too. I took some courses at a local college a few years ago, hoping they would give me the chance to find a career, then the funding was stopped.

I add up everything as I go round the supermarket. I bought bread yesterday for 26p, the reduced price of a more expensive loaf that I’d never usually buy, so that was a bit of a treat. I’ll pick up a pack of loo roll and look at the cost per sheet – I never thought it would come down to doing maths about loo roll.

Then the washing powder is