“We know the holidays are tough for parents and carers, when schools are closed and free school meals are unavailable, many struggle to cover the extra costs of feeding their children at home.”
More than one in three teachers (38%) in the poorest areas think four or more of their class will go hungry.
It comes as campaigners and MPs push the new Labour government to tackle child poverty by scrapping the two-child benefit limit.
The limit, which charities have called “one of the cruellest welfare policies of the past decade”, means families claiming benefits who have a third or subsequent child after April 2017 are denied more than £3,000 compared with families whose kids were born sooner.
New government statistics show that one in nine children are impacted by the two-child limit, equating to 1.6 million children.
One working mother said: “My number one reason for doing anything is my children, yet when I watch them queuing in a food bank with me because I physically can’t provide for them, I feel horrific, it makes you feel like an absolute failure.”
Almost half (45%) of families said they struggle to pay their rent or mortgage because of the policy. A similar proportion (46%) struggle to manage childcare costs.
Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “Children are losing their life chances to the two-child limit now – they can’t wait for the new government to align every star before the policy is scrapped.
“The prime minister came to office pledging a bold, ambitious child poverty-reduction plan and there’s no way to deliver on that promise without scrapping the two-child limit, and fast. This is not the time for procrastination or prevarication – the futures of 1.6 million children are on the line.”
In London, where the Felix Project is based, 104,000 children are believed to be at risk of holiday hunger.
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has pledged to support children eligible for free school meals throughout the school holidays.
Through this funding, the Felix Project delivered the equivalent of 3.6 million meals to children and families in need across the capital last year, and it hopes to help even more children this year.
One of the schools in line to receive support over the summer is Mandeville Primary School in Hackney.
Marc Thompson, headteacher of Mandeville, said: “We are doing all we can to support parents and carers during the holidays, when we know many struggle to afford to buy enough food, but sadly there may still be some children that end up going hungry and missing out on the nutrition they need.
“These results are shocking but not surprising. I believe around 60% of children in our classrooms risk going hungry this summer. The food we get from The Felix Project is vital for us to try and prevent holiday hunger and ensure our pupils enjoy their summer break and come back feeling ready and energised for the new term.”
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