Up to 3 million children going hungry over school holidays

Up to three million children risk going hungry during the school holidays, a cross-party panel of MPs and peers has warned. The Government should use £100,000 raised from the tax on sugary drinks to help councils support schemes aimed at feeding hungry children when school canteens are shut, the group said. The parliamentarians heard evidence of children existing on a diet of crisps and hungry youngsters unable to take part in a football tournament because “their bodies simply gave up”.

The report said those at risk of being hungry over the summer include more than a million children who receive free school meals during term time, and two million more with working parents who are still in poverty. It noted that an increased number of families relied on food banks during the school holidays and suggested there are “particular difficulties that arise at those times of the year which restrict families' abilities to afford food”. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on hunger said Whitehall should place a duty on councils to work with schools, churches, community groups and businesses to tackle the issue.