Ellie Benton and Anne Power

Published 13 February 2023

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting households across the UK, many of whom are increasingly struggling to meet day-to-day costs, including energy, food, transport, and other essentials. With limited state support to address the crisis, households are turning to community groups and other anchor organisations for basic provisions, such as food and clothes. LSE Housing and Communities set out to understand how these groups were working, how demand for services has changed, and what community groups need to continue providing this vital support. We interviewed and carried out site visits to twenty grassroots community groups, and six anchor organisations working to help people through the crisis. The work we uncovered was extremely inspiring. The groups have an acute awareness of growing local needs, are mainly volunteer-led, and are increasingly being relied upon by statutory services. The groups show the power of community action in addressing local problems, whilst recognising that community action alone is not enough to address the root causes of the crisis. We need an overhaul of wages, benefits, and the economy to tackle the wider problems of poverty, low incomes, and rising costs.