One in eight parents said their children have had to skip meals as there was not enough food to eat and 15 per cent reported that their children always or often tell them they are hungry.
The report into the breadth and depth of child hunger in London amidst rising food prices and a prevailing economic climate, found that two in five parents surveyed have had to cut back on the amount of food they buy.
In particular, 30 per cent of parents said they had cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables in the past month in favour of cheaper, frozen foods that represent better value for money as they last longer.
Other coping strategies used by parents included turning to their wider families to help them feed their children, using money off vouchers and taking up Free School Meals (FSM).
One in ten children stated that their biggest meal of the day was their school lunch, a figure which the report’s authors say equates to around 82,000 children in real terms.
While many parents said they relied on FSM, some children reported not taking up the school meals because of the stigma attached. Around 16 per cent of children were embarrassed to receive Free School Meals.
One child said he didn’t like to have FSMs as it meant sitting on a table with all the other children who claimed them.
Other reasons given included a lack of choice, long queues, and having to use different payment methods.
When asked what changes families would like to see, more than a third (37 per cent) supported a proposal to use free food vouchers to buy healthy food.
Parents also suggested reducing and fixing the cost of staple foods like milk, bread, eggs, potatoes and other vegetables.
Improving access to supermarkets was also raised by families. The report outlines how Transport for London could work with supermarkets to provide free or subsidised travel to shops, based on the Dial-a-Ride model.
It goes on to suggest ways in which to iron out flaws with the way that FSM are delivered within schools and increase uptake.
One option is to provide children with more choice by including healthy foods such as salads and offering Halal and vegetarian options, says the report’s authors.
Another is to consider making all school meals free, heavily subsidised or compulsory for everyone to make it difficult to identify low-income families and encourage greater socialisation among children.
Along with the report, the London Food Board has also produced a new web tool, the London Food Map, to help organisations supporting people in food poverty to identify and access affordable and/or free sources of food.
Rosie Boycott, chair of the London Food Board and the Mayor’s food advisor, said, ‘It is an unacceptable fact in 21st century London that there are children who are going hungry and that families are struggling to access good food. So it is more important than ever that we build a consensus to tackle food poverty while understanding more about the complex range of factors that contribute towards the problem.
‘This research makes for difficult reading, but it’s intended to encourage further collaboration between key agencies including private and voluntary sectors to help improve our food culture. We need innovative solutions that empower people and it’s clear that schools have a particularly influential role to play. This is why the Mayor and I are working on a range of initiatives to improve school meals and to make the cooking and growing of food an integral part of school life. This will help to ensure that children growing up now have the skills and the mind-set they need to feed their own families good food in the future.’
