27% of households with children under four-years-old experienced food insecurity in January 2023
By Rachel Lawler
More than a quarter of households that include children under four-years-old experienced food insecurity in January 2023, according to new data from the Food Foundation. This compares to just 15% of households without children.
Government statistics also show that uptake of its Healthy Start scheme is just 64% - lower than its current target of 75%. This is also well behind an equivalent scheme in Scotland, called Best Start Foods, which had 88% uptake in 2021-22.
Cost of formula milk
A mother of four 鈥 including twin girls aged four, a baby aged nine months and a son 鈥 based in Southampton, said: 鈥淩ight now Healthy Start is not covering the cost of the formula for [my baby]. The price of formula has changed a lot鈥 used to buy the same one for 拢12-14 but right now it is 拢17.鈥
鈥淢ore advertising is needed. For people [who] go at least once or twice a week, the supermarket is the best place to tell more people about Healthy Start. The government should do more advertising and supermarkets can do this. Supermarkets could definitely do more to promote healthy foods instead of junk foods.鈥
Investment needed
The Food Foundation has called on the government to invest 拢5 million in marketing spend to increase awareness of the scheme and improve uptake. It has also called for eligibility for the scheme to be extended to include all families on Universal Credit.
Debilitating food prices
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, said: 鈥淒ebilitating food price rises are making it incredibly challenging for low-income young families to afford a healthy diet. This is extremely concerning given how important good nutrition is for young children鈥檚 growth and development. Healthy Start is a highly-targeted scheme that should be helping families most in need, but pitifully low uptake levels mean there are families all over the country who are missing out on this statutory scheme. Much more needs to be done by government to make sure uptake improves 鈥 implementing the recommendations set out in the National Food Strategy is a good place to start.鈥
Funding for early years
Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the 无码天堂, said: 鈥淚t is extremely concerning that more than a quarter of households with children under the age of four are facing food insecurity.
鈥淓very child, regardless of their circumstances, should be able to access affordable, healthy meals 鈥撯痑nd yet, we know that the cost-of-living crisis is heaping unbearable pressure on families and that, as a result, more and more young children are coming into early years settings hungry.
鈥淲hile providers are doing all they can to provide well-balanced, affordable meals and snacks, rising costs are making this a near-impossible task. We urge the government, therefore, to commit to providing specific funding for the delivery of healthy, nutritious food in early years settings as well as ensuring that early years funding actually covers the cost of delivering quality care and education more broadly.
鈥淚t is often argued that no child should be expected to attend school hungry and yet, as this research shows, children in the early years are more likely to experience food insecurity than their older peers. As such, if the government is serious about tackling food insecurity among children, funding for healthy meals in early years settings must be made an urgent priority.鈥