United Public-Is Sounds the Alarm Bell on World Food Day

ANKARA - In a report published on October 16, World Food Day, the United Public-Is Confederation announced that access to a healthy diet has become a luxury in Turkey and that a majority of citizens struggle to live below the hunger line. According to the Confederation's research unit Kamu-Ar's September 2025 report, the hunger threshold for a family of four has reached 30 thousand TL, exceeding the minimum wage by about 7 thousand TL.

The Drama of 35 Million People Living on Minimum Wage

In a period when World Food Day is used to draw attention to global hunger, United Kamu-İş has revealed the dire situation in Turkey. According to the Confederation's report;

• The Hunger Limit (minimum food expenditure required for a healthy diet) for a family of four was set at 29,444 TL.

• According to data reported to the Social Security Institution, 7 million people in Turkey work for minimum wage. With unregistered laborers, this number is estimated to reach 9 million.

• When the families of these laborers are taken into account, it is revealed that more than 35 million citizens have to live on the hunger line, that is, on the food they can only afford.

• The Poverty Line, which is the income required for a family of four to live without feeling poverty, has reached 90 thousand lira. The fact that half of this figure is food expenditure shows how access to basic food has become a luxury.

Food Prices Continue to Skyrocket

Kamu-Ar's September food inflation data proved that access to basic foodstuffs has become increasingly difficult for working people. Some of the monthly and annual price increases noted in the report are as follows:

In the light of these data, United Kamu-İş commented, "For laborers, bread is no longer in the lion's mouth; it has reached the stomach."

Child Development at Risk: No Free School Meals

It was emphasized that one of the most serious effects of food inflation is its impact on children's development. It was stated that despite the justified demands of the public, not even one free meal is provided to children in schools, which causes students to attend classes on an empty stomach, interrupting their education and their physical and physical development.

Externally Dependent Policies Deepen the Crisis

It was underlined that Turkey has lost the three pillars of a sustainable food policy (proper agriculture, proper animal husbandry and proper food industry) in the last 20 years. It was stated that farmers are bleeding, the imported meat trump card is pulled instead of support for animal husbandry, and the food industry receives inadequate support and supervision. In this reality, where the principle of the social state has disappeared in the field of food, there is no reason to be optimistic for the near future.

"Access to Healthy Food is a Constitutional Right"

The Central Executive Board of the United Public Workers Confederation called on the state and reminded that access to healthy and adequate food is the most basic, humanitarian and constitutionally guaranteed right for every citizen. Stating that the level of development of a country is measured not by the luxurious consumption habits of its rulers, but by how its people - especially children - are fed, it was emphasized that in order to prevent a deepening gap in access to food, it is necessary to return to the social state principles of the Young Republic.