More than a third of parents say price is a barrier to being able to feed their child what they'd like to

More than a third of parents of 1-4 year olds say price is a barrier to them being able to feed their child what they would like to

With the Government planning to publish its Child Poverty Strategy next month, and promises to give children ‘the best start in life’ and to raise ‘the healthiest generation of children ever,’ The Food Foundation is urging the government to address food insecurity and diet related ill health, particularly in households with young children.

A new report, which included a YouGov poll of parents with children aged one to four, published by the charity today has found that:

• Over 1/3 (35%) of parents surveyed say price is a barrier to feeding their child as they would like to⁽¹⁾
• 84% say good nutrition is a key consideration when deciding what to feed their children, while 56% say price and affordability is
• Over 1/3 (35%) said having more affordable options available was the support needed to help them to feed their child the types of food they would like to
• Support schemes for low-income families, such as Healthy Start and Free Early Years Meals (FEYM), are currently not reaching many who need them
• Approximately 200,000 children in early years settings are eligible for child poverty support but do not qualify for FEYM⁽²⁾

Lack of affordable healthy food

The report, Boosting Early Years Nutrition to support a healthy childhood, has been published at a time when it is known 30% of children (4.5 million) in the UK are living in poverty, rising to 36% in households where the youngest child is under 5.⁽³⁾

In January 2025, The Food Foundation found that 17% of households with children under four were experiencing food insecurity⁽⁴⁾, while between April 2022 and April 2025 the price of an average food shop basket had increased by around 27%.⁽⁵⁾

Healthier foods are more than twice as expensive per calorie as less healthy foods, with healthier food increasing in price at twice the rate in the past two years.⁽⁶⁾

All this means that nutritious meals are out of reach for many low-income households. In fact, of the most deprived fifth of households, those with children would need to spend an unrealistic 70% of their disposable income just to afford the Eatwell Guide, the government-recommended healthy diet.⁽⁷⁾

The new report from The Food Foundation focuses on nutrition in the early years (1-5) as a critical period for giving children the best start in life.

A poor diet in this period can hinder health, growth, development and school readiness and, over time, increase the risk of disease, widening health inequalities and placing a greater burden on the NHS.

In particular, poor diet has contributed to high levels of obesity⁽⁸⁾ and tooth decay⁽⁹⁾ in 5 year olds, with the most deprived children twice as likely to be afflicted than the least deprived in both cases.

Healthy Start Scheme failing to keep pace with inflation

The report notes that government support schemes have become more important as families struggle with rising costs. However, the Healthy Start Scheme, meant to support pregnant women and those with children under four in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, by giving them credit to buy fruit, veg, pulses and milk, is not fit for purpose.

The scheme has failed to keep pace with inflation, so its real value has diminished⁽¹⁰⁾, having not increased since 2021 - before the cost of living crisis.

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Restrictive eligibility criteria (set at an income of £408 per month or less excluding benefits) means many children in poverty are missing out.

Even for those families who are eligible, many still aren’t getting the support they have a right to due to lack of awareness of the scheme’s existence and a laborious application process, which could be solved by the introduction of an opt-out or auto-enrolment system.

Lack of access to Free Early Years Meals

The cut off threshold to receive FEYMs is set at the same low level as it is to receive Free School Meals (£7,400 per year and in receipt of qualifying benefits/Universal Credit).

The report found that as well as the low-income thresholds, there are a number of additional barriers for families to accessing FEYM. Only children who attend state-maintained settings⁽¹¹⁾ can access FEYM, despite these settings representing a low proportion of all childcare places in use.

There is also a requirement for children to attend both morning and afternoon sessions to qualify for FEYMs, even though many families rely on part-time and sessional childcare.⁽¹²⁾ This means that some of even the poorest families, who would otherwise qualify are excluded from FEYMs due to technicalities.

As a result, just 24,000 children are registered for FEYM⁽¹³⁾. This represents 8% of children attending eligible state-maintained settings and just 2.2% of all children attending formal childcare.⁽¹⁴⁾ This is particularly stark when compared with the fact that 18% of children in Reception qualify for means tested FSM.⁽¹⁵⁾

The report also found that approximately 200,000 children who attend formal childcare do not currently receive FEYM, despite being registered for child poverty support schemes.⁽²⁾*

The Food Foundation is calling for the strengthening of these nutritional safety nets as part of the Child Poverty Strategy so that families on a low income are supported and can feed their children the nutritious diet required to grow up healthily.

Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy, The Food Foundation, said: "The Child Poverty Strategy is an opportunity for the government to prove they are serious about giving children the best start in life and raising the healthiest generation of children ever.

"It is vital that we invest in good nutrition in the early years in order to help tackle widespread health and diet inequalities from a young age. A commitment to strengthening Healthy Start and Free School Meals to ensure that more children in poverty have access to these nutritional safety nets is a must have for the Child Poverty Strategy."

 

Dr Vicky Sibson, Director, First Steps Nutrition Trust, said: "It’s shocking that a third of UK parents say they can’t afford to feed their young children as they would like to. But sadly, given the high cost of healthy foods it’s also not surprising.

"The first years of life are the most critical time for establishing healthy food preferences, dietary patterns and growth trajectories.

"Poor diets in infancy and early childhood have life-long consequences, driving dental decay, obesity and other noncommunicable diseases.

"It’s vital that healthy early years’ diets become a political priority, for the young children themselves, for the adults they will become and their future families, and the society and economy they will participate in and contribute to.

"Actions to ensure that our national nutrition safety nets are working effectively and having public health impact should be an essential part of the Child Poverty Strategy."

 

Dr Helen Stewart, Officer for Health Improvement, Royal College Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "4.5 million children living in poverty is a crisis that cannot be overlooked.

"As a pediatrician I see first-hand the devasting effects poverty can have on every area of a child’s life, it increases children’s risk of poor physical health, mental health issues, and even developmental delays.

"Many low-income families are missing out on crucial support schemes like Healthy Start and Free Early Years Meals leaving vulnerable children without a nutritional safety net.

"The upcoming Child Poverty Strategy is a chance for the government to demonstrate their commitment to our youngest and most vulnerable generation, and by improving and expanding initiatives like Healthy Start, the government can ensure that no child goes without proper nutrition.

"Every child deserves the healthiest and best possible start to life. Poverty, especially child poverty, has no place in our society."

 

Lynn Perry, Chief Executive, Barnardo’s said: "With the price of basic items staying high, healthy food is out of reach for too many families – with families living in poverty find it harder to buy, cook and eat good food.

"Far too many children are missing out on nutritious food - with huge knock-on effects for their health, both now and long into adulthood.

"With children’s diets and health worsening, it is vital that this issue is addressed in the government’s forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy, by increasing the value and take up of the Healthy Star scheme."

* Early Years Pupil Premium and Early years provision for disadvantaged 2-year-olds

FOOTNOTES

⁽¹⁾ Survey carried out by You Gov. Total sample size was 1,041 parents with children aged 1-4. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th March - 1st April 2025. The survey was carried out online. See technical report for more details. Available at: www.foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/boosting-early-years-nutrition-supporthealthy-childhood

⁽²⁾ Bremner & Co analysis. See technical report for more details. Available at: www.foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/boosting-early-years-nutrition-support-healthy-childhood. Data is from here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cff11cca-69fe-4814-94e6-08dd573d5fcc

⁽³⁾ Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2025) UK Poverty 2025. The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2025-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk. Number is from here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

⁽⁴⁾ Food Insecurity Tracking | Food Foundation

⁽⁵⁾  The Food Foundation. Food Prices Tracking. Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/food-prices-tracking

⁽⁶⁾  The Food Foundation. The Broken Plate Report 2025. Available at: 
https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2025

⁽⁷⁾  https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-07/Affordability%20.pdf

⁽⁸⁾  NHS England. National Child Measurement Programme. Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-childmeasurement-programme/2023-24-school-year

⁽⁹⁾  OHID. National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) for England: oral health survey of 5-year-old schoolchildren 2024. 2025. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/oral-health-survey-of-5-year-old-schoolchildren-2024

⁽¹⁰⁾  Analysis by Imperial College. See Technical report. for more details. Available at: foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/boosting-early-years-nutrition-support-healthychildhood

⁽¹¹⁾  State-maintained settings are defined as nurseries, primaries, secondaries, special schools and AP schools that have early years children as registered pupils of their school. It excludes childminders and private voluntary, and independent (PVI) settings, as well as school-based nurseries where the child is not a registered pupil of the school, such as governor-led settings.

⁽¹²⁾  The Education (School Lunches) (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Order 2003. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/382/article/3/made

⁽¹³⁾  'FSM eligibility by ethnicity or national curriculum year group' from 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics', Permanent data table - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK

⁽¹⁴⁾ Bremner & Co analysis of childcare use, estimated using and IFS figures for formal childcare use by children aged 1, 2 and 3 See: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland 
and https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/output_url_files/R210-The-changing-cost-of-childcare.pdf? See Technical Appendix for full detail.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Cooper K. As food poverty is set to soar, how many free school meals reach under-fives?
2022. Available at: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/blog-asfood-
poverty-is-set-to-soar-how-many-free-school-meals-reach-under-fives/ and here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5ce5917d-2c5f-45fc-96de-08dd85738b16
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please contact Juliet Grant on 07929075489 or email juliet.grant@foodfoundation.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW
Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy, The Food Foundation.

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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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