One in four teachers provide food to hungry pupils

New research has revealed that more teachers than ever are personally providing food to students due to welfare concerns.
 
The survey for FareShare by TeacherTapp of 9,000 teachers in England found that one in four brought food into school out of concern for hungry pupils.

The survey also found there is a nine percentage point increase in teachers bringing in their own food for children in more deprived areas compared to affluent areas.
      
The South West region had the highest percentage, with 29.4% of teachers bringing in food for children.

35% of teachers said their school already provides food in this situation, with this figure rising to nearly 50% in the most deprived areas of the country
 
Buzzee Beez is a small preschool in Harlow, Essex, working with young children and families. Kelly Stallwood, Deputy Manager at Buzzee Beez, said: “We are in a deprived area so we see the struggles some of our families are going through. The staff have been known to give up their food, or purchase food for a child, when they have come into the setting hungry or they have little to no lunch in their lunch bag. We also support our families by signposting to a charity we work closely with, who open a food pantry every weekend, as well as being able to issue foodbank vouchers.
 
“We are extremely fortunate to be part of FareShare, and other similar programmes, where we collect surplus food to give out to our families. Since the cost of living crisis began, this has become more of a need for some families, rather than an extra top up to their shopping. We are seeing more and more people needing that little bit more help.”
 
FareShare works with the food industry to get food good to eat food, that would otherwise go to waste, to a network of 8,500 charities across the UK.  
 
This includes 2,000 charity and community groups that provide after school, holiday, and breakfast clubs to children and young people. Many families have become reliant on these over the summer holidays.
 
The cost of living crisis has forced many of these schools to move from catering breakfast clubs during termtime to passing on food to parents via food banks, pantries, and other support services.
 
Yet FareShare cannot meet the skyrocketing demand for its food, and has over 1,500 charities on its waiting list, 600 of which support school-aged children on its waiting list.  
 
FareShare has calculated that by committing £25 million per year, the Government could deliver 42,500 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent of 100 million meals – to those experiencing food insecurity. The majority of this funding would make it cost-neutral for farmers and food businesses to redistribute their surplus food by paying for labour, packaging and transport. Without access to more food, the majority of charities FareShare supports say they may have to reduce their services, impacting families across the UK.
 
George Wright, CEO at FareShare says: "Over the summer, staff and volunteers at FareShare have been working tirelessly to get more edible surplus food out to people who need it, as parents have faced the added burden of childcare costs and soaring food bills while their children are out of school. But despite these efforts, we still do not have enough food to meet skyrocketing demand, and teachers across the country feel they have no choice but to step in to help hungry children. Our teachers should be teaching, not forced to fill the gap because the Government stands by and allows this to happen all the while food goes to waste on farms. Food that 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. We need to see the Government act urgently and show that it takes tackling hunger seriously."
 
To support FareShare's campaign visit Fareshare.org.uk.