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Families on income support are struggling to find the money to feed their children nutritious meals during school holidays, according to a report published today by children’s charity Barnardo’s, writes Lindsay Clark.

A family of with three children that receives free school meals during term time could have to find an extra £25 a week to provide nutritious meals, the charity said. 

The report Food Poverty in the School Holidays estimates that the cost of extra meals during holidays could be putting an unbearable financial burden on families relying on income support and job seekers allowance.

“Poverty really hits children in the school holidays because there are more demands on their parents and less money to meet these demands,” said Barnardo’s principal policy officer Neera Sharma.

”There is increasing evidence, which has been borne out by our projects, that families who live on benefits cannot afford to feed their children a healthy diet.

“While that situation is allowed to continue, children of parents on low incomes are going to be more likely to suffer ill health both now and in later life. People of all ages in poorer households have lower nutrient intakes than people in richer households.”


Barnado’s is calling on the government to increase financial support to poor families during the school holidays, introduce a development grant to help fund holiday activities and introduce minimum income standards for parents.

More than 3.5 million children in the UK were living below the poverty line in 2002-2003, according to government figures. The government aims to eradicate child poverty by 2020.