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Parents Skip Meals for Kids This Holiday
21 Jul
Summary
- Charity reports parents skipping meals during holidays.
- Extra food costs cited as children lose school meals.
- Growing number of people face food insecurity and hunger.
Families are reportedly skipping meals to make ends meet during the school holidays, a situation highlighted by a local charity. FareShare Sussex & Surrey has warned that some parents face increased food costs because children cannot access free school meals while school is out. The charity's chief executive described a "mountain of need," indicating a significant rise in people experiencing food insecurity and more extreme hunger.
Government-funded holiday activities and food camps, such as Surrey's Club4, are available but primarily for children eligible for benefit-related free school meals. A senior warehouse manager at FareShare shared a personal experience of relying on a food bank 11 years ago when homeless with his daughter, emphasizing the severe struggles faced when benefits covered only essential travel for school, leaving little for food.
