To ask why there is such food poverty.

[Helendee]

Please no flaming as I genuinely am seeking answers as to why so many children are going to school hungry these days.
This is not a critical or inflammatory post, I just want to know what’s gone wrong.
Obviously many of us are struggling financially because of Covid but food poverty was a huge problem before that.
Is it that benefit levels are too low to adequately feed our children?
What can we do to ameliorate the situation?

@TheFormerPorpentinaScamander

Because the cost of living massively outweighs wages/benefits. This means you can't always afford to bulk buy or run a second freezer. Or have space to store loads of food. Disability/mental health issues. Lack of education of how to cook some things. Fuel poverty. Its all well and good lentils being cheap but not if you don't know what to do with them/can't afford to keep the oven on for hours to slow cook things.

I've just today been sent a £15 voucher for Asda to cover DS1s FSMs for half term week. I didnt realise this was being continued so it was a nice surprise. BUT I don't usually shop with Asda, my nearest one is 2 bus rides away. I could use it online, but then I'll have to pay the delivery charge. I actually have a Morrisons delivery pass that I paid for in richer times. Luckily I have family who can use it so I've 'sold' it to them. Probably against the rules but I can't use it otherwise!

That’s interesting, is it only Asda that are taking part? That’s so terrible that people may not be able to use it if they don’t live nearby, hardly helping is it??

Many vulnerable children will be the children of vulnerable adults, those with addiction, severe MH or physical health issues, long-term unemployment. Adults who may lack the money, yes, but also the organisational skills/motivation to manage running a household, finances or cooking two/three square meals a day. In standard middle-class suburbia, vulnerable children and adults will be a minority, in a very deprived area, there will be lots of children really not well looked after and adults barely able to look after themselves.

I'd also agree with the sheer lack of time working adults have to cook, some are just knackered after working multiple jobs, long shifts. I remember the council estate I grew up on, many families relied on cheap food from the local chippy especially those that can't or won't cook. But chippy food is pretty expensive these days, a large portion of chips from our local chippy is £5, fish and chips for four was almost £40. So if you're time and money poor, well it can't be easy at all.

@EmbarrassedUser I'm not sure. Asda is the nearest big supermarket to the school, so that could be a reason. In the summer I could choose where my vouchers were for from a list. I wonder if this one was financed by Asda as the government voted against continuing the scheme.

Our County Council has announced a voucher scheme today. They can be redeemed at all major supermarkets.

The practical response would be to round up the younger members of the WI and fund a cooking scheme in which groups of kids were given a food holiday bootcamp over half term. Ingredients provided by the council, Tesco, local suppliers, and participants would take home a family meal so everyone eats. I would actually participate in teaching two or three students to cook and meal plan, but only a handful. The numbers are crucial in making a scheme work, and I'd want an absolute rule of no cake making. Or maybe on the last day: the aim would be to teach useful cheap cooking and eating. Cheaper cuts of meat transformed into nutritious family meals, with inexpensive veg.Ways to use mince....But you are never going to get supermarkets to help, because they want ignorant people to choose from their chill cabinets.

All of that said, there would be a problem with the cooking vessels. I can make casseroles, because I have casserole dishes. Am I going to lend a child I barely know a cast iron Le Creuset dish that would cost £85 to replace to take home? Probably not.

XingMing, I'd be happy to be volunteer for a scheme like that, teaching practical skills, I'm not a great cook but I am very good at making something from not much, making some basic ingredients stretch, creative use of leftovers.

I have heard it say this is patronising to families in need (apparently) which shows you can't win!

@FatimaMunchy

Our County Council has announced a voucher scheme today. They can be redeemed at all major supermarkets.

Don't know if you're in any position to influence them but might I suggest they allow people to redeem the vouchers online. I know of a scheme where the vouchers have to be used in-store. Online redemption would be helpful for clinically vulnerable households and also for those who don't live close to one of the supermarkets.

I'd also like to think ill and disabled adults are included. I feel for them. Some are struggling on a paltry £74 a week (often having to use a chunk of that to top up rent not covered because of housing benefit cuts).

I imagine more people are losing their jobs and having to make do on the disgustingly low wages of universal credit. Me, dp, and our infant son had to live off UC last year after dp suddenly lost his job. It was really awful. We only had £20 a week for food and we were hungry! (Non smokers btw). I imagine that more attention is being drawn to how no family of 2 adults and a baby can afford to live off £1070 a month plus -£80 council tax, which was £990 when our rent alone was £600! After all of our bills we had about £80 left for food every month when that had to cover baby formula! We lost so much weight.

Noti23 That sounds very hard. It is isn't enough to live on, now rent is so expensive. Rent has gone up a lot over the last ten years, houses like my first house have gone up by £200-300 per month. In ten years. Formula is expensive too, I wish they'd make companies sell it for less or make a generic version as it can't be £9 per box to produce and it is an essential product. Aldi and Sainsburys (Little Ones, it's actually Kendamil) make cheaper versions but still £6-7+ per tin and it doesn't leave anything for the rest of the food bill.

@XingMing

The practical response would be to round up the younger members of the WI and fund a cooking scheme in which groups of kids were given a food holiday bootcamp over half term. Ingredients provided by the council, Tesco, local suppliers, and participants would take home a family meal so everyone eats. I would actually participate in teaching two or three students to cook and meal plan, but only a handful. The numbers are crucial in making a scheme work, and I'd want an absolute rule of no cake making. Or maybe on the last day: the aim would be to teach useful cheap cooking and eating. Cheaper cuts of meat transformed into nutritious family meals, with inexpensive veg.Ways to use mince....But you are never going to get supermarkets to help, because they want ignorant people to choose from their chill cabinets.

This should be taught in schools as part of the core curriculum, not by well meaning volunteers. And it isn’t a solution to food poverty, more money in the pocket helps. Even basic ingredients cost money, good quality ones cost quite a lot.