TWO million people are now so deep in poverty that they are skipping meals and even going without food for a day, foodbank charity the Trussell Trust has revealed.

New research by the organisation, published today, shows that the cost-of-living crisis is forcing families into hunger even before next month’s government-approved 80 per cent rise in energy prices takes effect.

The trust said the crisis was having a “devastating impact on people forced to survive on the lowest incomes.”

More than 5.6 million are now dependent on the Tories’ universal credit (UC) benefit system for survival, with almost half in work but on poverty wages.

Nearly 40 per cent of those receiving the benefit missed meals or went without food for at least a day last month, according to the trust’s survey.

Twenty per cent said that they eat cold meals because they cannot afford to turn their ovens on.

Almost a quarter were unable to get to work or appointments because they could not afford the transport costs.

The trust said the findings illustrated the inadequacy of the government’s response to the crisis.

Chief executive Emma Revie warned that that problems would worsen as winter approaches.

“It’s wrong that people are missing meals and are unable to afford to cook because they are sick or disabled or caring for someone,” she said.

“The reality is that, instead of providing a lifeline when our circumstances change, financial support such as UC is leaving people, 41 per cent of whom are working, without enough income to stay warm, fed and dry.

“It’s pushing people to the doors of foodbanks and that’s simply not right.”

Ms Revie called for “strong systems that lift us out of hardship rather than plunging us deeper into poverty,” adding: “The government must act now to protect people from harm.”

Campaign group Fuel Poverty Action said that the trust’s “appalling” figures “underline the urgency of government support that does not just give with one hand and take back with the other.”

A spokesperson warned that using taxpayers’ cash to hold down energy prices would jeopardise spending on health, housing, education and benefits.

Trussell Trust runs 1,200 foodbanks, about half the total number in Britain.