Parents worry about the food their children are eating due to rising costs – while teachers say more schoolchildren are hungry

Every week, nearly one in five UK parents (19%) have to unhealthy food for their children because they can’t afford healthier options, according to a new survey for Barnardo’s.

And the majority (60%) of parents who had to buy unhealthy food for their children in the last year said they were worried about what they were feeding their children. This new YouGov data shows the increasing need to provide children with access to free and nutritious school meals across the school day.

The new findings from the survey of 2,239 UK parents feature in a new Barnardo’s report Nourishing The Future – which highlights growing evidence that far too many children and young people are missing out on nutritious food, with a major impact on their health.

Also launching today is the School Food Review’s new report – The Superpowers of Free School Meals. It lays out evidence demonstrating the multiple benefits of expanding free school meals, starting with all children from families in receipt of Universal Credit or equivalent benefits, as a first step to universal free school meals. These include not only better health and wellbeing, but improved attendance, better pupil outcomes and wider social benefits including reduced inequalities.

Both reports will launch at a parliamentary event today, hosted by the School Food Review – a coalition of organisations which includes The Food Foundation, School Food Matters, Chefs in Schools, Bite Back and Barnardo’s as well as other charities, educational bodies, unions, academics and caterers - who are urging the government to extend access to free school meals.

The event - The Superpowers of School Food: Breakfast and Beyond – will provide MPs with evidence that shows exactly why every child, no matter where they live, should have the same opportunity to access and enjoy nutritious, delicious and sustainable school food.

Among the charities is School Food Matters - which commissioned polling of 10,000 teachers in England to find out the extent and impact of child hunger at school. One in five teachers (20%) reported that the number of children who are too hungry to learn has increased since the beginning of the academic year. A quarter of teachers (25%) reported using their own money to feed children. Overall, two-thirds (67%) of teachers said they supported introducing free school meals for all children.

In England, access to free school meals is extremely restrictive, with families needing to earn under £7,400 (after tax, excluding benefits) per year to qualify, leaving around one million children in poverty without access. However, in other parts of the UK, the situation is better. The eligibility threshold is highest in Northern Ireland at £15,000 (after tax, excluding benefits). Children in London and Wales, as well as some age groups in Scotland, are entitled to universal free school meals in primary education.

Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive at School Food Matters said:

"As part of our research we spoke to headteachers in schools outside London who believe it's unfair that access to good nutrition is determined by a family's postcode or their pay packet."

Terri Cheung, Headteacher at Phoenix Primary School in Liverpool, said:

“You can tell when children haven’t had enough good nutrition by how lethargic they become in the classroom. Hunger makes it harder to concentrate, no matter how exciting the topic. If a child’s mind wanders during a key part of the lesson, it can affect their learning the next day, which can quickly snowball.

“Many of our families can’t afford school meals, so they provide packed lunches, which are often low in nutritional value. Meanwhile, our school cook prepares delicious, nutritious hot meals every day. Our children feel it’s unfair that children in other parts of England and across the UK can access universal free school meals while they can't.”

Chef Tom Kerridge said:

“Clearly something is broken within that free school meal system. Trying to get something more robust and solid in place is desperately needed. For many of these kids, a free school meal is the only meal they get that’s warm”

Chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver said:

“When we feed kids well, when we act with kindness and integrity in our politics, the benefits are profound. It truly is a superpower – setting them up to get better grades, better jobs, and so putting £8.9 billion back into the economy over 20 years. Let's hope our politicians can step up to the plate.”

Eastenders star and Barnardo’s ambassador Michelle Collins said:

“As the children of a single parent, my sister and I were both eligible for free school meals, but you had to join a separate queue which could be a humiliating experience for the kids. My mum worked three jobs to get the money together for us to not have to join that queue. Sadly, I think some of that stigma still exists today. 

“I’m supporting this campaign for universal free school meals to ensure everyone is treated the same and that children are getting the healthy food they need with no questions asked.”

The Nourishing our Future report from Barnardo’s shows how nutritious food is out of reach for many young people, with unhealthy food making up more of their diets because of its convenience and cost.

This report draws on insight from children, young people, parents and Barnardo’s practitioners, and experts in child health and nutrition. They told the charity:

• Children, young people and their parents want to eat healthier diets but are struggling to do so.
• Healthy food is out of reach or out of budget for many families and young people in the UK, particularly those living in poverty and/or on Universal Credit.
• There are huge and unfair structural inequalities in the food system that make it harder for certain groups of children and families to buy, prepare and eat nutritious food.

Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry said:

"The food we eat as children has a huge impact. Sadly here in the UK, far too many children and young people are missing out on nutritious food - with huge knock-on effects for their health both now and in the future.

“We know that parents are making big sacrifices so their children have the best food they can afford. But with the price of basic items staying stubbornly high, healthy food is out of reach for too many families – with people living in poverty find it harder to buy, cook and eat good food.

“When Barnardo’s first started supporting children in East London back in 1866, many of the boys experienced poor health due to malnutrition, such as rickets. Today, with children’s diets and health worsening, it is more important than ever that this issue is addressed – starting with extending healthy free school meals to more children.”

Recommendations from Barnardo’s report to the governments in each UK nation include measures to increase the value of healthy shopping vouchers given to families with young children living on the lowest budgets, making school lunches free for all primary school children, with an immediate extension to all families receiving Universal Credit, strengthening the rules on the quality of meals that schools can provide and using the proceeds of any future taxes on sugar or salt to reduce food insecurity.

Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Food Foundation said:

“Investing in feeding children well is like laying the foundation of a tall building. The strength of the entire building rests on it. If you skimp on the foundation, the entire structure becomes unstable, no matter how tall you want it to reach. Similarly, children are the foundation of our collective future. By ensuring they are well-nourished, we’re building a strong, resilient society that can rise to great heights. Skipping this step undermines the potential for everything that comes later.”