Increase in teachers bringing food for hungry students, survey finds

A survey of 10,000 teachers has found that 28 per cent of teachers across England have brought in food for pupils in the last term, which is up from 26 per cent in summer term 2023.

This is despite over a third of schools providing food support, a figure that has not changed since last year.

The research, conducted for FareShare by TeacherTapp, explored how many students teachers have had to personally feed due to concerns over their welfare.

Fareshare is a surplus food redistribution charity FareShare, which provides food to 2,000 charities and community breakfast, after school, and holiday clubs to children and young people.

They found that the number of teachers in schools in the most deprived areas of the country providing food to their students has gone up by over five per cent in the past year.

George Wright, CEO at FareShare said: “Even with increased support from the food industry since we last held this survey, teachers across the country still find themselves stepping in to feed hungry children highlighting a growing crisis. Meanwhile, millions of tonnes of perfectly edible food continue goes to waste every year."
 
He added: “Our teachers should be focused on educating, not filling the gaps in food provision. We need the new government to collaborate with the food redistribution sector to ensure more nutritious food reaches people in need. Our manifesto outlines the steps needed to make this a reality.  With the right support to we can ensure more nutritious food reaches children and they get the nourishment they need to thrive in school and beyond.”
 
FareShare’s manifesto Where’s The Food? called on the government to develop a UK-wide plan to end charitable food aid and address the economic and structural factors behind poverty.