One in four teachers forced to bring food to schools to help starving children

Based on responses from over 9,000 teachers, the charity FareShare said that teachers across England "believe that they have no choice but to step in to help starving children.”

A quarter of teachers personally supported at least one student during the summer term for social protection reasons (

Image: PA)

One in four teachers in England brought food to schools to help hungry children during the summer term, according to an alarming new survey.

Drawing on responses from over 9,000 teachers, it also shows that teachers in deprived areas need to intervene more frequently due to the cost of living crisis.

The survey - conducted for the charity FareShare - found that 26% of teachers personally supported at least one student during the summer term for welfare reasons. The South West region has the highest figure, with 29% of respondents bringing food for children, according to the survey by Teacher Tapp.

FareShare warned that this figure could be higher during the new school year, urging the government to "act urgently and show it takes the fight against hunger seriously". A cash injection of £25million a year, they added, could provide the equivalent of 100million food surplus meals to those who are food insecure. The Mirror and the National Education Union (NEU) are also calling on the Tories to provide free school meals to all primary school pupils in England.

In a worrying sign, FareShare, which supplies food to 2,000 charities and community groups for breakfasts, after-school and holiday clubs, said 1,500 organizations were on their list of expectation, including 600 supporting school-aged children.

George Wright, Managing Director of FareShare, said: "Over the summer, FareShare staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to provide more surplus edible food to people in need, as parents have faced the added burden of childcare costs and skyrocketing food bills while their children are out of school. He added: "But despite these efforts, we still have no enough food to meet growing demand, and teachers across the country feel they have no choice but to step in to help starving children.

"Our teachers should be teaching, not being forced to fill the void because the government stands by and allows this to happen while food is wasted on farms, food that could go to millions of people. 'children and families facing hunger, insecurity.'

A government spokeswoman said: “More than a third of pupils in England now receive free school meals in schools, up from one in six in 2010 and we have extended eligibility several times to more children's groups than any other government during this time. for half a century. "This includes the introduction of new eligibility criteria for families receiving Universal Credit, to ensure that even more children are eligible for a free school meal.

"We are providing record financial support worth an average of £3,300 per household. We have also increased benefits in line with inflation, raised the National Living Wage and are helping households pay for food, l energy and other essential expenses."

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