Call for new government to reduce children's food insecurity as part of child poverty taskforce

New government called on to make reduction in children's food insecurity a goal for the child poverty taskforce and Children's Wellbeing Bill 

New data from The Food Foundation shows:  

• 7.2 million adults and 2.7 million children experienced food insecurity in June 2024⁽¹⁾ (14% of households, and 18% of households with children)
   
• Impact of two-child limit shown as 23% of families with three children experienced food insecurity, and 26% of families with four or more children experienced food insecurity⁽¹⁾
   
• Among the poorest fifth of the population, households with children would have to spend 70% of their disposable income on food to afford the government recommended healthy diet⁽²⁾
   
• Clear calls from citizens and experts for government to take action to reduce children’s food insecurity in first 100 days 

Persistently high levels of food insecurity

New data from The Food Foundation shows that in the month leading up to the election, 14% of UK households, and 18% of households with children, experienced food insecurity⁽¹⁾. This demonstrates the scale of the challenge the new government faces and underscores the need for plans to ensure that everyone can afford and access nutritious food in order to improve the health of the nation and grow the economy.

Impact of two child benefit cap

Impact of two-child limit shown as 23% of families with three children experienced food insecurity, and 26% of families with four or more children experienced food insecurity. This compares to 17% of households with one or two children experiencing food insecurity, and 12% of households without children experiencing food insecurity.

Households left unable to afford a healthy diet

New analysis from The Food Foundation⁽²⁾ also reveals that among the poorest fifth of the population, households with children would have to spend 70% of their disposable income on food to afford the Eatwell Guide (the government recommended healthy diet). This is clearly not a realistic proportion of disposable income to expect families to spend on food.

In comparison, households without children in the poorest fifth of the population would need to spend 42% of their disposable income on food to afford a healthy diet. This figure is still unfeasibly high and highlights why the UK remains blighted by persistently high levels of food insecurity.

Both citizens and experts call for action to tackle food insecurity in first 100 days 

In the first 100 days of government:

• 89% of the public would support an announcement setting the minimum/ living wage at an amount that covers the cost of basic essentials including food 
• 83% would support setting benefit levels at an amount that covers the cost of the basic essentials including food 
• 89% would support the introduction of free school meals at lunchtime for all children in poverty 

The Food Foundation is calling on the new Government to:

• Make reduction in children's food insecurity a goal for the child poverty task force and Children's Wellbeing Bill
• Require that the cost of healthy and sustainable diets be taken into account when setting benefits levels and the national minimum/living wage, and remove the two child limit
• Provide Free School Meals to all children, starting by increasing the eligibility criteria to all children in families in receipt of Universal Credit and auto-enrolling all eligible children

Read more in The Food Foundation’s Nourishing the Nation Manifesto.

Shona Goudie, Policy and Advocacy Manager at The Food Foundation, said: "Last week’s announcement that the Government are convening a Child Poverty Action Taskforce is a positive step; however, the immediate action that is so desperately needed to relieve the families across the UK who are going hungry was sorely lacking in the King’s Speech.

"Food insecurity has been persistently far too high over the last few years with the previous government failing to take decisive action for too long.

"We are calling on the new government to ensure that everyone can afford and access a healthy diet that will keep them healthy, and in doing so achieve their ambitions to make our children healthier, relieve pressure on the NHS and grow the economy.

"We urge the Government to set reducing children's food insecurity as a goal for the child poverty taskforce and Children's Wellbeing Bill, and to take critical next steps to achieve this including ensuring the national minimum/living wage and benefit levels cover the cost of basic essentials, including food; extending eligibility for nutritional safety nets including free school meals at lunchtime and Healthy Start; and abolishing the two-child benefit limit."

 

Michael Marmot, Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, said: "There are few things more basic than having enough food to eat.

"Tragically, in the UK in July 2024, on the eve of the election, 18% of households with children suffered from food insecurity. Then there is the quality of food.

"To follow the government’s healthy eating advice, households with children in the lowest 20% of household income would have to spend 70% of their income on food.

"These people are not ignorant, lazy, or bad planners. They are poor. The challenge for the new government is to ensure that every child has the conditions for the best start in life."

 

Penny Walters, 54, a Food Foundation Food Ambassador from Newcastle, says: "People can’t see the prices going down because they’re not. People aren’t earning enough and it’s impossible to afford a healthy and balanced diet.

The prices of fruit and veg are still high and I always need to shop around; I could go to five supermarkets and two cash-and-carries just to get the best prices.

"In the King’s Speech last week, there was barely any mention of food. There was nothing on Free School Meals and I was disappointed to see nothing on the two-child benefit cap.

"The government may want to bring in breakfast clubs, but a lot of the time in reality, students can’t get to school for breakfast because of the travel times and other barriers.

"More thought is needed on this, because the kids that will be left out are the kids that need the support the most."

 

Dominic Watters, single parent and a Food Foundation Food Ambassador from Canterbury, said: "We are the ones politics has forgotten about. Us lot in council estates across the country.

"Forty-two percent of families on Universal Credit are experiencing food insecurity. That means the system is failing us. Now is the time for policymakers to stop playing hunger games with the poor."

NOTES TO EDITORS

Please contact: Juliet Grant on 07929075489 or email juliet.grant@foodfoundation.org.uk

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Shona Goudie, Policy and Advocacy Manager, The Food Foundation 

Full list of Food Insecurity Stats July 2024

From an online survey of 6,177 adults in the United Kingdom commissioned by The Food Foundation and conducted between 26th June-2nd July 2024 by YouGov Plc.

• 14% of households (an estimated 7.2 million adults) experienced food insecurity in July 2024 
• 18% of households with children reported experiencing food insecurity, compared with 12% of households without children.  
• 19% of households with children reported that children were directly experiencing food insecurity 
• Single adult households with children were nearly twice as likely to be food insecure than multi adult households with children (31% compared to 16%) 
• 42% of households in receipt of Universal Credit reported experiencing food insecurity, compared to 11% of those not in receipt of Universal Credit 
• 13% of workers in some kind of employment reported experiencing food insecurity 
• Non-white ethnic groups (26%) are at higher risk of food insecurity than white ethnic groups (13%) 
• There are wide inequalities in food insecurity levels between households with an adult limited a lot by disability (32%) and households with adults not limited by disability (10%) 

FOOTNOTES

⁽¹⁾ As part of The Food Foundation’s regular Food Insecurity Tracking progamme we commissioned YouGov to conduct a survey of 6,177 adults in the UK between 26th June – 2nd July 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults 18+. The figures presented from the online survey have been analysed independently by The Food Foundation and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The Food Foundation asked three questions to assess whether people are food insecure. If they answer yes to any of the three questions, they are classified as food insecure: In the past month, have you/anyone else in your household:

• Had smaller meals than usual or skipped meals because you couldn’t afford or get access to food?  
• Ever been hungry but not eaten because you couldn’t afford or get access to food?  
• Not eaten for a whole day because you couldn’t afford or get access to food? 

⁽²⁾ https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-07/Affordability%20.pdf

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The Food Foundation is a charity working to influence food policy and business practice, shaping a sustainable food system which makes healthy diets affordable and accessible for all. We work in partnership with researchers, campaigners, community bodies, industry, investors, government and citizens to galvanise the UK’s diverse agents of change, using surprising and inventive ideas to drive fundamental shifts in our food system. These efforts are based on the continual re-evaluation of opportunities for action, building and synthesising strong evidence, convening powerful coalitions, harnessing citizens’ voices and delivering impactful communications.        
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