A recipe for success: How do children and young people want to access food in their communities?
Too many young people are not getting the food they need, when they need it.
Since May 2023, we have been working in partnership with Co-op to bring local communities together in supporting positive futures for 750,000 10–25-year-olds across the UK, after research that found just 62% of young people feel positive about their future.
This report focusses on one of the key foundations young people need to thrive: access to food. Young people tell us that getting good, nutritious food, in the places and spaces that work for them is key to them getting on in life.
Listening to young people’s voices is more important now than ever before. Our report builds on insight from our services in communities across the UK, reflecting the views and experiences of young people aged 10 to 25 – including members of the partnership’s Youth Advisory Group.
Young people talked about feeling shunned from food banks, community kitchens, or even just public places to sit and eat food. Your mental wellbeing is impacted if you don’t feel welcome in your own community. It can make you feel very helpless.
Kyson
Youth Advisory Group member
Who we spoke to for this report
We spoke to three key groups:
- 31 young people in six focus groups across the UK
We ran focus groups with young people where Co-op and Barnardo’s are delivering services. We also ran one focus group online with Co-op’s Young Members' Group.
- 45,000 children and young people with VotesforSchools
In collaboration with VotesforSchools we asked 45,000 young people in schools and colleges across the country to share their views. 23% of secondary school pupils said they could not access healthy food in their community.
- 10,028 Co-op Members in an online poll
We asked Co-op members about our solutions for change. 10,028 took part, including 601 young people aged 16-25. Over 90% supported our proposed solutions below.
Our recommendations for change
What local authorities and Government can do:
- Local authorities should establish a local food partnership in every area, directly involving young people from the start. The Government should review how it could support this, learning from funding and legislative initiatives in Scotland and Wales.
What retailers can do:
- Consider ways that 16 and 17 year-olds can access discounted food by amending the terms of their retail discount schemes or considering the introduction of other discounts.
What the Government can do:
- Set out plans to address hunger during the school holidays after the Holiday Activities and Food Programme ends in March 2025, including efforts to increase uptake and extend eligibility.
- Make food available to young people in existing afterschool clubs and youth services, including in Family Hubs and the proposed Young Futures Hubs. Consult young people on food provision and on opportunities to develop cooking skills in these services.
- Remove the reduced rate for under 25s in Universal Credit to ensure young people can afford essentials.
- Review the Healthy Start scheme to ensure its value is adequate and uptake improves.
We bring about change to make children’s lives better
We call for improvements to the law, policy, and professional practice informed by the experiences of the children and young people we support and our own evidence-based research.
Our partnership with Co-op
We are working with Co-op to raise £5m to support young people to access basic needs like food, manage their mental wellbeing, and connect with opportunities for their future.
Why involving young people in decisions about their lives is a recipe for success
Read our latest blog from Ali Cooper, our Senior Policy Advisor on Child Poverty, who shares some of what is in the report and explains why it’s important that young people's voices are included in decisions about their lives.