Poverty is a problem that often feels far away, but a new report reveals the credit crisis is biting closer to home and says there are thousands of people on the continent going hungry.

Listen to an interview with Margarita Plotnikova of the Red Cross in Budapest

Margarita Plotnikova, a Red Cross spokeswoman, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that more Europeans than ever are asking for cash handouts to help them buy food - something that hasn't happened for many years.

"Vulnerability is closely linked with economic conditions, primarily with unemployment, particularly in Europe. It is surprising and we are facing problems in the Red Cross that we didn't face before. We don't pretend to give any rigid statistics on the numbers and losses but we definitely feel there is an increase in the number of requests for food, and many national societies are increasing their food distributions in Central and Eastern Europe."

Surge in demand for food aid
The IFRC report found that more than two-thirds of EU members have seen a surge in demand for food aid, with several Mediterranean countries experiencing particularly high demand.

In Spain around half a million people receive handouts from the national Red Cross; that figure does not include asylum seekers, refugees and other vulnerable groups.

Vulnerable groups hit hardest
Plotnikova says the middle classes have been hit by the crisis, but the group that's been the hardest hit includes the most vulnerable people in society.

"We are talking about basic food, and not the population in general but traditional beneficiaries: low-income families, people who are vulnerable in other circumstances like migrants, the unemployed, homeless people, families with one parent. Very often they have a dilemma about what to spend their limited income on, to pay for electricty and communal services or to pay for basic food for their children and themselves."

Red Cross demands action
As winter approaches and the weather gets colder the IFRC wants governments to take action and implement policies to make more money available to help people in need, she says.

"What we suggest is to consider these needs and increase social attention to the problem and support for
organisations who are supporting these social programmes."