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In 2000 there were no food banks in the UK. There are now over 2,8001. Over the same period the number of billionaires in the UK went from around 30 to around 1502 – a direct consequence of austerity policies pursued by successive governments over the last fifteen years.

theukhasmorefoodbanksthanbranchesofmcdonalds.com is an album by Matthew Herbert made entirely from samples of everyday food bank items such as pasta, cereal, tinned fruit, nappies and toilet roll, it represents the latest iteration of Herbert’s long-standing interest in food and the systems that underpin it. 

The title of the album functions as a URL with an honesty-based tickbox system that will unlock a free download of the album in exchange for having made a donation, writing to your local MP, alongside additional information about how to contribute.

The first single ‘pasta (is not a luxury)’ was released August 14, 2026. The full album will be released in October 2026.



This project is designed to be non-profit, and Matthew’s time and studio expenses creating the music is donated. We can’t expect this project to recoup its expenses from its income sources since the downloadable files are being given away for free. But if it does generate money via licenses or other usages, proceeds will be donated to grassroots organisations working in food poverty in the UK and internationally. We’ll communicate this as it happens, sharing where the money goes.

in order to get the album for free, please read and tick the following boxes:

live dates
7 May 26 - Salle Playel, w/ Oneohtrix Point Never (Paris)
26 August 26 - MUTEK (Canada)
11 September 26 - Take The A-Train Festival (Salzburg)
12 September 26 - Transart (Cortaccia)
+ more TBA

credits, references, organisations & further reading
all tracks written and produced by matthew ‘wishmountain’ herbert
mixed and recorded at human jerky by matthew herbert with additional mixing by dilip harris at mancrush
additional production by momoko gill
most sounds recorded by dan pollard, some by matthew herbert
album artwork by bohannon herbert
press photos by inci uzel
written according to the rules of pccom

1 www.trussell.org.uk/our-work/what-we-do/our-story, www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy50477w70do, https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8585/
2 https://equalitytrust.org.uk/evidence-base/billionaire-britain-2025/
* Trussell distributed over 2.6 million emergency food parcels in 2025 (Trussell, House of Commons Library), Trussell operated from 1,556 locations in 2025, and there are at least 1,172 additional independent food banks not counted in their figures.
** www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/23/uk-children-baby-banks-poverty
*** commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8585/
****

There are many organisations doing amazing things, these are some that have informed and inspired this project please look further into what they're doing if you can:
foodaidnetwork.org.uk
hammersmithfulham.foodbank.org.uk
biteback2030.com
fanssupportingfoodbanks.co.uk
fareshare.org.uk
jrf.org.uk/social-security/united-to-guarantee-our-essentials
jealousgallery.com/blogs/news/no-food-in-the-house?srsltid=AfmBOooUN5uGiDAO4G-BloI27mMfciHP6EcL-Zjblaw9cin33mklIB4s, corbinshaw.com
thebrick.org.uk
newcastlefoodbank.org/
jrf.org.uk/

matthewherbert.com
accidental.co