Half of primary school pupils supported by food banks last summer, figures show

Anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust has revealed that new data shows last summer almost half of children receiving help from foodbanks were primary school students.

In addition, 4,412 more three-day emergency food supplies were given to young people during July and August last year, compared with the previous two months.

Just over 67,000 three-day emergency food supplies were also provided for children by the trust’s foodbank network in the same period, compared with 63,094 in May and June 2016.

In light of the new figures, Trussell Trust foodbanks will be offering extra help to families this summer, with at least 60 foodbanks providing additional services.

Twenty-four of these will be running a Trust Holiday Club, supported by the Innocent Foundation, to provide families with learning activities and hot meals.

Volunteers will talk with parents to understand why they are struggling this summer and signpost families onto relevant local services or organisations to provide further support.

Operations manager for England at The Trussell Trust, Samantha Stapley, said: “Over a third of all the food distributed by foodbanks in our network consistently goes to children, but these new figures show five to 11 year-olds are more likely than other children to receive a foodbank’s help.

“As a nation, we also must address the reasons why families with children are referred to foodbanks in the first place. We welcome the Government’s decision to maintain free school lunches for children during term time – the next step must be to help families during the holidays. Foodbanks are doing more than ever before but voluntary organisations alone cannot stop primary school children facing hunger.”

Stapley continued: “We are keen to share our insights with the new Government alongside other charities to inform a long-term coordinated solution to stop families falling into crisis.”