Do you skip meals because you cannot afford or get access to food? Have you been hungry but chosen not to eat in order that your children have enough food? Living in food insecurity is not something many of us can imagine, but for a significant number in our society–especially those with children–it is a terrifying consequence of living in poverty.
Latest data from the Food Foundation's Food Security Tracker tells us that in June 2024, 13.6% of households experienced food insecurity, while official figures (DEFRA, 2024) show that 7% of households were defined as ‘food insecure’ in 2022. We know that households with children are more likely to be food insecure than those without and the Food Foundation has previously estimated that as many as 1 in 4 could be affected.
The Trussell Trust (2024) reports that more than 3.1 million food parcels were distributed by its food banks in the last year, double the number compared to 5 years ago and including 655 000 people who used a food bank for the first time. And 1 in 5 schools now have some form of food bank for families (Baker et al, 2024).
The picture is dire for these families. As winter looms large their plight will be exacerbated as money is stretched even further by rising energy bills. There are 4.3 million children in the UK living in poverty (Department for Work and Pensions, 2024) and the impact on their outcomes is stark, especially so for those who do not get enough food. They include ‘child developmental risk, behavioural problems, reduction in school readiness, social, emotional and academic problems, and adverse childhood experiences’, as Harrison et al discuss in this edition (see page 118).
There is much that needs to change in the long-term to address the scandal of entrenched poverty in one of the world's richest countries, where seven out of 10 children living in poverty have at least one parent in paid work (Child Poverty Action Group [CPAG], 2024a). But there is much that can be done now. The new government's pledge for ‘free breakfast clubs in every primary school, accessible to all children’ is a great step, with the recent Budget allocating funding of £30m to this cause. As Harrison et al report, breakfast interventions in schools were found to reduce food insecurity and perceived to help ‘alleviate hunger, improve health outcomes and provide social, behavioural and educational benefits’.
A great second step would be a move to expand free school meals. As many as 900 000 children in poverty don't quality for FSM because the low income cap of £7 400 on eligibility has not increased since it was introduced 6 years ago (CPAG, 2024b). Current FSM provision costs us £1.4bn a year for around 3.4 million children (including universal FSMs in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2), but with ‘a fairly strong evidence base suggesting that children who receive FSMs benefit academically’ (Cribb et al, 2023) the case for expansion is clear. Options include expanding FSMs to all families on Universal Credit (costing an additional £1bn a year to cover an additional 1.7 million children) and raising the income threshold to £20 000 (£425m for an additional 900 000 children). Truly universal provision up to Year 11 would cost an extra £2.5bn a year (Cribb et al, 2023).
This is not complicated. It is not just about funding, as the money required would likely be returned to the system through improved outcomes, including better home-school relationships, better eating habits for children, and a positive impact on engagement and learning outcomes (CPAG and NEU, 2023). It is about political will and we need action. We need the new government to show us that it means business when it comes to tackling child poverty and food insecurity.