ALMOST half of adults are buying less food as concerns over the cost-of living crisis intensify, new figures suggest. 

The latest stats from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published today, show that nine in 10 households are now feeling the impact of rising costs — up from 62 per cent in early November. 

Forty-six per cent said that fears over the soaring cost of living has driven them to put less food in their shopping baskets, while 91 per cent said that they had made changes in order to save on energy bills, such as washing on a lower temperature. 

Far more respondents said that they were worried about the cost-of-living crisis — 78 per cent — than the prospect of new Covid variants — 49 per cent. 

Anti-poverty campaigners said that the figures demonstrated the need for more government support, warning that the impact of rising prices is being worse felt by families on low incomes. 

Trussell Trust head of policy and research Polly Jones said: “Today’s data about the cost of living comes as little surprise. 

“Soaring food and fuel costs are affecting us all, but for families on the very lowest incomes this crisis means so much more. 

“It means having to make impossible decisions between putting food on the table or being able to take a hot shower — and too many people are being left with no option but to use a foodbank because their money simply won’t stretch.

“Foodbanks across our network are telling us about accelerating levels of need in recent months as more people are being pushed deeper into poverty and struggling to make ends meet.

“While we welcomed the government’s recent announcement of a support package to help people through the current crisis, this cannot be a one-off. 

“That’s why we’re urgently calling on the government to deliver a social security system to ensure everyone can afford the essentials we all need to survive, like food.”

The price of energy to heat and run homes increased by 54 per cent at the start of April, and is expected to rise even further in October, potentially by another £1,000 per year.

Food and drink price inflation also rose to 8.7 per cent in the year to May, separate ONS figures have shown.