I work five days a week and I still have to use a community shop.

Millions of people in the UK are in paid employment but still struggling to make ends meet.

It doesn't make sense that we have to go through all this.

We are penny pinching, we're counting the pennies every day.

Politicians repeatedly tell voters the best way out of hardship is to get a job.

But for a growing number of people, it's just not enough.

People like Melanie.

When it's a choice between you getting some new shoes and your daughter getting some new shoes.

You buy yourself some superglue to glue your shoes together and I do.

And it shouldn't have to be like that. It really shouldn't.

No.

You don't have to look like you've got nothing to have nothing.

I don't do a weekly shop. I can shop daily for bargains.

And I can go from one supermarket to another.

We are penny pinching, we're counting the pennies every day.

Once you've bought all the essentials for the month, how much are you left with?

Nothing. Nothing.

We're not living a life, I think we're just plodding on.

For the last 14 years, Melanie has been working in a local school as a learning support assistant.

I've always had at least one or two jobs.

Worked for every call centre, seasonal work, local football team, cleaning.

You've done it all?

Yeah.

Been there, got the t-shirt.

You do it for your children, all three of my children.

They've seen mum doing her best.

We have a lot of staff illnesses due to being overworked.

And you've bushed your gut so much, you've got nothing left when you come home.

And you think to yourself, "Is it worth me getting up and going to work in the morning?"

Knowing I could do half the hours that I wanted to.

And get my rent paid, council tax paid.

But it's pride at the end of the day.

Where Melanie lives in Yorkshire, almost one in four people live in poverty.

In the North East, the situation is even worse.

And living in poverty almost always means struggling to put food on the table.

As food bank use reaches record highs, community shops like this one in South Tyneside are popping up all over the country to fill the gap between rising costs and stagnant wages.

So I'll be getting some eggs, some bananas and potatoes.

My little boy loves eggs, so it's worth it if you get that.

You're allowed to come here once a week, it costs £4.

I only work part time, however, I'm above the threshold for getting any kind of help from the government.

I can't be referred to a food bank.

So even though I'm struggling, I'm a single parent, I can't get any help from anywhere.

So this is a good way to do it.

When you leave school, you never think, right, this is going to be me using help from people, using community shops, using food banks.

You think you're going to be able to provide.

And in some weeks I can't.

There's no way I would ever buy this from a supermarket.

Only because it's just too expensive.

I work, my wife also works, but recently our kids just came into the country.

Four of them.

So they eat a lot.

What we make as income is probably not enough.

It's minimum wage, so it doesn't cover the bills, the rent and everything we need to pay for.

So that's basically why I have to come.

It doesn't make sense that we have to go through all this.

We're working full time.

Record numbers of people in the UK are finding work.

But many of those jobs are insecure.

And while inflation rates are slowly improving, real-term wages and benefits aren't keeping up.

So yeah, it's half-term this week, which it's nice to have time off and it is to switch off.

But then you're still worrying, you know, we're at home all day now, budgeting your gas, your electric, you know, what you're going to eat this week.

Cheese and butter, please.

I used to cook every day.

Now I can't afford to do a meal every day.

So when you do, you cook double, so the next day it's there just to warm up.

And do you know what other adult want? This for my children when they go out and be their own little adults.

Get their own lives out there, I don't want that.

And I don't want them to see me struggling.

What would you like to see happen?

I'd like to see our wages to make us have a better quality of life.

I'm not wanting a flash car, I'm not wanting fancy trainers.

I just want to be able to get up in the morning and think, I can put my heating on today.

And that's all that we need. Go to work, work your backside off and be able to come home and enjoy what you've earned.

I've got nothing to enjoy.

The number of working adults living in poverty has risen 56% in 25 years.

Back in the day, my dad worked, my mum stayed at home and you had everything.

And now two people can work and you still can't even afford to put a meal on the table at night time.

We need to be heard.

We need to be seen.

And we need to be believed.

We're not just a number, we're people.

If I ever got it all you want, and I think those that have got it, they don't realise what it is to go without.

A government spokesperson said, we are providing £104 billion in cost of living support, worth on average £3,700 per household, including investing over £2 billion in the Household Support Fund to help those most in need, as well as boosting pensions and benefits.

Since 2010, there are 1.7 million fewer people living in poverty and we know work is the best route out of poverty.

So we're going even further, raising the national living wage, cutting national insurance, curbing inflation and investing billions through our Back to Work plan to break down barriers to work so even more people can secure long-term financial security.