Millions of Brits struggle to buy enough food for their children, research finds

The cost of living is far from over, Barnardo’s has warned, with a quarter of parents still struggling to provide enough food for their children.

This equates to 3.4 million children whose parents have struggled to afford food in the past year, an increase of 5% from October 2022, new research by the charity found.

With energy prices expected to rise by 10%, the charity said difficulties would continue. Its polling also found two in 25 parents – or 8% – used a food bank in the past 12 months.

“We know families have to make gut-wrenching choices every day, prioritising feeding their children and heating their homes over buying other essential items,” said Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s. 

“Many families can’t wait any longer for support and next month’s budget is an opportunity for the government to take bold steps, like ending the unfair two-child limit on benefits.”

Perry’s comments came as the boss of Aldi UK said customers were “trading up” to premium products as inflation tailed off. 

As the Labour government says “hard choices” are needed on the economy, battles rage over the support on offer to those living in poverty.

It extended the household support fund this month, with the temporary extension welcomed but branded a “last-minute, poorly designed sticking plaster”.

Under pressure to end the two-child benefits limit, the government has established a Child Poverty Unit as part of what Keir Starmer called an “ambitious child poverty strategy”.

Calling the two-child limit a “sibling penalty”, Perry said ending it could lift 490,000 children out of poverty.

“We know from our frontline work that this policy penalises children who happen to have more than one brother or sister and means some families can’t put food on the table or the heating on when it is cold,” said Perry.

“The chancellor should take the opportunity in next month’s budget to commit to a long-term scheme for local crisis support and lift the two-child limit on benefits.” 

Research by the Trussell Trust found existing benefits are failing those in poverty, with 1.6 million people claiming universal credit also using food banks.

Over two-thirds of households claiming the benefit had gone without essentials such as food in the previous six months.

One in four children in the UK live in poverty, with the impact of this poverty making children shorter, fatter, and sicker.

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