Families skipping meals during holidays - charity

A regional charity has warned that some families are being forced to skip meals to survive the school summer holidays.

According to FareShare Sussex & Surrey, parents are facing increased food expenses during the summer break because their children no longer have access to free school meals. Dan Slatter, the chief executive of the charity, told the BBC that there is currently a "mountain of need" in the region.

"There's a growing number of people that are facing food insecurity or even more extreme hunger," Slatter said.

To help ease the burden, the government provides funding to local authorities across England so they can run holiday activities and food camps. In Surrey, these camps are known as Club4. However, Surrey County Council notes on its website that these camps are only available to children who are eligible for benefit-related free school meals.

The reality of food insecurity is something Steve, a senior warehouse manager at FareShare Sussex & Surrey, experienced firsthand. Eleven years ago, Steve was homeless with his daughter and had to rely on a food bank to get by.

"All the benefits I was getting were going on fuel to get my daughter to and from school every day," he told the BBC. "We were struggling. I didn't want to ask for help, but it got to the point where we weren't eating."

Why It Matters

The issue of "holiday hunger" has become a major focus of national debate in the United Kingdom, where millions of pupils rely on free school meals during term time. During school breaks, the loss of this nutritional support, combined with increased childcare costs and household utility usage, often places severe financial strain on low-income families. FareShare operates as the UK's largest food redistribution charity, sourcing quality surplus food from across the food industry and delivering it to thousands of frontline charities and community groups. The persistent demand on these networks highlights the ongoing challenges of food poverty and the critical role that third-sector organizations play in supplementing state welfare provisions.