One in four of England’s teachers provided food to hungry pupils last term

A survey carried out by food waste charity 'FareShare’ has revealed that one in four teachers in England had brought food in for a hungry pupil last term, coming to light as the new academic year is imminent. The charity provides food to 2,000 charity and community breakfast, after school, and holiday clubs to children and young people.

Over a third of respondents to the survey said that their school provides food support to children on a regular basis, this rate rising to almost half in the most deprived areas of the country. Rates are expected to rise in the upcoming term with the cost-of-living impacting families heavily.

The South West of England reportedly had the highest percentage of teachers bringing in food for children, sitting at 29.4%.

Just 35% of teachers said that their school already provides food in this situation, once again rising to nearly 50% in more deprived areas of the country.

George Wright, Chief Executive at FareShare, said: “Our teachers should be teaching, not forced to fill the gap. [Wasted] food could be going to the millions of children and families facing food insecurity. A new school term will undoubtedly bring huge demand for our services.”.

Source:

https://fareshare.org.uk/news-media/press-releases/1-in-4-teachers-bring-food-to-school-to-support-hungry-children/