The Guardian's Breadline Britain Project is tracking the impact and consequences of recession on families and individuals across the UK. As the cost of living rises, incomes shrink, and public spending cuts start to bite, we'll be looking at how people are coping (or failing to cope) with austerity. We'll be looking at areas like food, housing, work, debt and money. We'll be collating a Breadline Britain basket of data indicators to map the impact on society. And we'll be talking to people at the sharp end: living on, or hurtling towards, the poverty breadline
Welfare cuts: when all else fails, it's charity workers who pay the bills
These days it's not unusual to meet the cost of food and lodgings for vulnerable clients yourself, says frontline homeless charity worker Juli Thompson
Big Society cuts: who pays for lunch, when the State does a runner?
Charity workers operating a summer playscheme realised the only way to prevent the homeless children they looked after from going hungry was to dip into their own wallets
