Over two thirds of London teachers ‘concerned children will experience holiday hunger’

The survey, commissioned by food redistribution charity The Felix Project and carried out by Teacher Tapp found that 68% of London teachers are concerned at least one child in their class will experience hunger during the summer holidays because their parents or carers cannot afford to feed them.

Of the 1,118 teachers who took part in the survey, 47% were concerned between one and three children in their class will go hungry, this could equate to 104,000 children.

A further 16% said they were worried between four and six pupils would be affected, 3% said up to 10 children and 2% said 11 or more.

Nationally the results were very similar, where 50% worried up to three children in their class will go hungry. This could equate to around 645,000 school children.

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with LondonWorld’s free emails

The Felix Project, which rescues quality food that cannot be sold and redistributes it to over 1,000 community organisations and schools every week who are working to feed those in need, says it is doing all it can to ensure they are providing food support.

CEO of the Felix Project Charlotte Hill OBE said: “That any child might experience hunger and not have access to enough nutritious food during the school holidays is heart-breaking. 

“However, through these results we can see there are many teachers out there worried that up to 6 children per class may be in this position – that’s beyond heart-breaking, that’s shameful for our society.”

During term time The Felix Project delivers food to 170 schools every week. 

One of the schools in line to receive support over the summer is Mandeville Primary School in Hackney, which believes 60% of its children will go hungry this summer.

Its three sites receive food during term time, which is used to stock a weekly free shop, open to all parents; these deliveries will continue during the six-week break.

Marc Thompson is Headteacher of Mandeville, he said: “We are doing all we can to support parents and carers during the holidays, when we know many struggle to afford to buy enough food, but sadly there may still be some children that end up going hungry and missing out on the nutrition they need. These results are shocking but not surprising, I believe around 60% of children in our classrooms risk going hungry this summer. The food we get from The Felix Project is vital for us to try and prevent holiday hunger and ensure our pupils enjoy their summer break and come back feeling ready and energised for the new term.”

The Felix Project works in partnership with the mayor of London to provide free school meals for school children over the holidays.

Last summer over 3.5m free meals were provided to children from low-income families across the capital during the school holidays.

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “It is deeply concerning that so many children are facing hunger during the school holidays due to the cost-of-living-crisis created by the previous Government. That's why I’ve stepped forward to provide funding to help partners deliver healthy, nutritious meals during all school holidays, in addition to providing free school meals to all state primary schools in London during term time. 

“I am determined to ensure that no parent or child in the capital goes hungry and am looking forward to working hand-in-hand with the new government to build a fairer London for everyone.”