Trussell is calling on the government to ensure that Universal Credit always covers the basic necessities.
It also called for the Local Housing Allowance to be kept in line with affordable local rents.
Scrapping the two-child benefit cap would also reduce the number of people facing hunger and hardship by 9%, or 825,000 people, it said.
Helen Barnard, director of policy, research and impact at Trussell, said one in seven people facing hunger and hardship “should not be the case in one of the richest countries in the world”.
“We need urgent action on hunger in the UK because, if nothing changes, the number of people facing hunger and hardship will only increase,” she said.
“People are turning to food banks because they don’t have enough money to live on. But we know it doesn’t have to be this way.”
A government spokesperson said the government was “taking action” through a new Child Poverty Taskforce, which is “developing an ambitious strategy to give children the best start in life”.
“Alongside this, we have extended the Household Support Fund to support the most vulnerable this winter and have committed to reviewing Universal Credit while we deliver on our plan to tackle inequality and make work pay to deliver opportunity across Britain,” the spokesperson said.
