The impact of the benefit cuts are far-reaching.

Food banks in Bradford are already over-stretched supplying demand, and in some parts of the country it has been reported that families were actually resorting to shoplifting food simply to feed their children.

The focus on growing our own has never been greater as communities look to self-sustaining initiatives to cope with the crisis.

According to Soraya Overend, project manager of Bradford’s Ministry of Food, the problem is lack of food education in schools.

She believes culinary skills, originally passed on through the generations, have been lost along the way and the ease of buying ready meals for convenience has eroded the necessity to learn.

Launched in the city three years ago, Bradford’s Ministry of Food is the brainchild of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, with a mission to educate and equip people with the basic skills to create healthy meals.

His school dinner campaign sought to improve the quality of food served to pupils and now he’s on another mission helping families to cope with the financial squeeze.

Oliver’s book Save With Jamie: Shop Smart, Cook Clever, Waste Less, due out in August, focuses on teaching people how to cook tasty, nutritious food on a budget and encourages them to be ‘kitchen-smart’ to make those vital savings.

“This year I’ve got the message loud and clear that as everyone comes under bigger and bigger financial pressure, they want help to cook tasty, nutritious food on a budget. So this book was born completely out of public demand,” he says.

Certainly at Bradford’s Ministry of Food, courses continue to be buoyant.

The organisation works closely with schools and community groups. There are currently three schools a week from Bradford participating in cooking courses here.

Soraya believes the young people coming along to the courses can inspire their parents and encourage them to cook meals from scratch rather than relying on ready-made convenience meals to get by.

She also advocates people sourcing more affordable produce locally from places such as markets, local butchers and greengrocers.

“If they build up a rapport with the local butcher and the veg man they would be able to see what is on offer, what is the best and cheaper cuts of meat. They can make a lovely stew for next to nothing,” says Soraya.

Sure Start centres and community groups are also providing culinary advice to help those families seeking to make meals on a budget.

Jack First is an oracle on growing your own. He runs the Keighley allotment for the Shipley-based Cellar Project, a charity and social enterprise supporting people recovering from mental health problems through education, training and confidence-building as well as helping people find employment.

The author of Hot Beds, a book exploring the benefits of growing crops, believes people have lost the ability to be self-sufficient.

“In the past, people used to be able to do anything from the crib to the coffin,” says Jack.

Generations ago, people growing their own was almost second nature. Demand for allotments indicates that people are keen to resurrect this skill.

“Growing food is the first step to being a little bit more self-sufficient, and it is simple,” says Jack.

“You don’t need a lot of space to be able to grow a bit of food.”

Jack Darling, information officer for Bradford Community Environment Project, a charity running initiatives throughout Bradford focusing on bio-diversity and healthy eating, says they are already noticing demand for Food Co-ops.

“We also do cookery sessions to show them how they can use the food they have grown to make tasty meals that are cheap because it is the stuff they have grown,” says Jack.

They also run sessions for children.

He says in such financially-testing times it is important for families to learn how to grow their own and make affordable meals. “I think it is really important,” says Jack.