On Thursday 17th January, the Children’s Future Food Inquiry is holding its ‘Food for Thought’ listening event. Nine young food ambassadors between the ages of 10 and 20-years-old will travel from across the UK to meet with parliamentarians and civil society experts at the House of Lords, where they will share their experiences of food insecurity with the Inquiry committee, and open conversations with policy makers about how to tackle the problem. As food insecurity is a growing concert in the UK, people need to find out the ways to solve this problem. Talk more on your Youtube channel about this topic and in order to connect with more people buy Youtube subscribers.
The food ambassadors are presenting the new ‘What Young People Say About Food’ report, which finds that one in four children who do not receive school meals have skipped lunch because they cannot afford it. The report was developed with Fixers, who have worked with 300 young people to understand how food insecurity affects them and what changes they believe need to be made.
“I didn’t realise I was experiencing food poverty. To me not having enough food is my normal.” Corey McPartland, 15-years-old
CHILDREN TAKE UK FOOD POVERTY INTO THEIR OWN HANDS AND JOURNEY TO WESTMINSTER TO SHARE REAL STORIES WITH MPS
- Young people from across the UK are travelling to Westminster to ask that parliamentarians listen to their experiences of food poverty and work with them to effect change
- New data reveals that a quarter of children who do not receive free school meals have skipped lunch because they cannot afford it
- Young people working with the Children’s Future Food Inquiry say that food insecurity pervades every aspect of their lives and prevents them from fulfilling their potential, but they believe everyone has a right to eat properly and seek help without judgement
- Dame Emma Thompson is joining the Children’s Future Food Inquiry as an ambassador
- Report profiling young people’s response to food insecurity is published today
- Nearly four million children in the UK live in households for whom a healthy diet is increasingly unaffordable
Thursday 17th January 2019 – Today a group of children and young people from across the UK are travelling to the House of Lords to share their experiences of food poverty with the Children’s Future Food Inquiry committee.
MPs, peers and civil society experts will hear directly from nine ‘food ambassadors’ between the ages of 10 and 20-years-old, who have journeyed from England, Scotland and Wales to open conversations with policymakers in Westminster. The young people hope that their work with the Children’s Future Food Inquiry will highlight the pervasive nature of food insecurity in the UK which they say affects every aspect of their lives, despite their belief that everyone has a right to eat properly and seek help without judgement.
“If you feel hungry it can make you feel sick and you can pass out in lessons”
Young person, Children’s Future Food Inquiry participant, UK
The children’s views and recommendations are available in a new report from Fixers, who have worked with 300 young people to understand how food insecurity affects them and what changes they believe need to be made. The report comes as Dame Emma Thompson joins the Inquiry as an ambassador and calls for solutions to the impact that food insecurity has on children’s physical, mental and emotional health, social wellbeing and school performance.
“If you don’t eat enough at lunch it makes you tired, it messes with your brain as you can’t reach your full potential as you’ve not been fed”
Young person, Children’s Future Food Inquiry participant, UK
A new survey of 11-18-year-olds conducted by Childwise found that a quarter of children who do not receive free school meals have gone without lunch because they couldn’t afford it. The Fixers report details that children often arrive in school without eating breakfast and with no money for snacks. Frequently the money allocated for free school meals did not buy enough food to satisfy hunger, but it was felt that no one is responsible for ensuring that the children had enough to eat. Recent analysis from the Food Foundation showed that 3.7 million children in the UK are living in households for whom a healthy diet is most likely unaffordable.
“My mum gets £60 and my dad gets £200 through benefit, it’s not enough money for two weeks. Once you’ve paid the bills there is not enough for food”
Young person, Children’s Future Food Inquiry participant, UK
Although there is still no national measurement of food insecurity in the UK, rates are estimated to be some of the worst in Europe, and disproportionately affect the 4.1 million children living in poverty. Food insecurity can lead to both malnutrition and obesity, with households forced to rely on the very cheapest foods, which are often nutrient-poor but calorie-rich.
The stigma around food poverty was identified as a key barrier to children seeking support, and the young people called for a dedicated hunger teacher in schools to educate people about hunger, food insecurity and food banks, which they believed would help reduce stigma and encourage peers and teachers to support those in need. 72% of the children that participated in the project thought the portrayal of food on TV was unrealistic and damaging, and wanted more responsible meal depictions and advertising.
