The Big Issue – August 19, 2019

campaign.

T

heBigIssue’sholiday

hungercampaignhasbeen

hammeringhomethereality

ofsummerfoodpovertyforfamilies.

Butweknowthestruggledoesn’t

endwhentermstartsupagain.For

families who finditdifficult to keep

theirchildren fedwithoutfree school

meals,andwho often have todecide

betweenentertainingthemand

keeping the electricity metertopped

up, thereare healthimplications

reaching far beyondthe beginning

ofterm.

DrKelly Morgan,a publichealth

researcher at Cardiff University, knows

this well. She gatheredevidence from

193 primaryschoolsacross Walesto

findout howchildren’s experiences

during the long summerholidaycould

explain the socioeconomicdifferences

seenin their healthwhenthey go back

to school.

There’ssomething manypeople

don’tconsider a healthissue, she says,

butis endemicamongpoorerchildren

returning to school:loneliness.

“Wesurveyedmorethan 100,

youngpeopleagedbetween11 and16,”

Morgantells The Big Issue.“Sure,one

in six youngpeoplereportedfrequent

experiences of lonelinessduring the

summer,andthat’saconcern. But

thereis a serious social gradient there.

Somefamilies are already trying to

coverchildcarecosts, for example,and

the extragapin the foodavailability,

andwe knowthat activitiescan be

expensive in the summer holidays.”

Theteam’sresearchprovedthat

poorerchildren were lesslikely to spend

timewithfriendsor engageinphysical

activities, whichwasdirectly linkedto

theirmentalhealthfurtherdownthe

line. Thosesamechildren were more

than twiceaslikely than theirwealthy

peersto reportfeelinglonelyoften.

“Lonelinesshadthestrongestlinkto

wellbeingandmentalhealthwhenthey

returnedto schoolthatwe observed,”

Morgansaid.“Ifpoliciesare lookingto

have moreof animpactonchildren’s

healthinthiscontext,lonelinessisa

massive factor we shouldbetargeting.”

Recentresearchfrom theacademics

suggestedthatschoolsshouldbe

openedduringthesummerholidays

andusedto providehealthyfoodand

worthwhileactivityfor kids. Holiday

lunchclubsare, shesaid,“a short-term

fix”andnotthe“structuralchange”that

isneeded.

“Healthinadolescence, mental

healthinparticular,isunravelling,”

Morganadded.“It’s atcrisispoint. Allthe

while, thegap betweenrichandpoor

isone of thewidestcomparedto other

developedcountries.

“Withoutaholistic,all-encompassing

approach,hungerandlonelinesswill

justgrow andgrow amongchildren

whosefamiliesarehithardestduring

theholidays.”

Next year theresearcherswilllaunch

astudyof how povertyduringthe

holidaysimpactspupil attainment upon

returnto school.

@hannahjtw

Theriseinholidayhungerisa stain

thatshouldshameBritain.It’s

anindictmentofyearsofpolicies

thatpunishthosemostinneed.

WeatTheBigIssuewanttodoall

wecantohelpfghtit.Wehavebeenprovidingaplatformforthewonderful,

selflessgroupsandindividualsofferingahandup.Butwealsowanttohear

yourstories,[email protected]

thoseinneed,awaytocelebrategoodpeople.Thenwewilldoourbittomake

surethegroupsarenotneededinthefuture,bydealingwiththecorecausesof

holiday hunger. And you can read more about the campaignatbigissue.com

TACKLING

HOLIDAY

HUNGER

Long, lonely

summer

TACKLING

HOLIDAY

HUNGER

Hungerisn’ttheonlythingsomekidshavetoworry

aboutovertheholidays– isolationoftengoeshandin

hand with deprivation.Report: Hannah Westwater

THATFOODBANK–TEIGNBRIDGE,DEVON

THAT(TeignbridgeHomelessActionToday)isa

comprehensiveeffortto alleviatepoverty,basedin

Bucklandandfoundedin2017.

Openeveryweekday, thefoodbank supplies‘tailored-

to-need’foodpacks. That meanssomeonewillgeta

differentfoodparceliftheydon’t have acookerto someone

whodoes;or someonesleepingroughwillbegiven a

non-cookpack.

THATsetupa‘no hungryholidays’ programme,making

upextra foodpacksto ensurestrugglingfamilieswere fed.

“We thoughtwe’dget25-30referrals,”says Lin

Wooldridge,chairof theorganisation. “We’vehad95.

“Ifafamilydoesn’thave avehiclethatmeansthey

cancomeinandcollect, we have ateamof volunteers

whodeliver.”

Everytimeahouseholdreceives theirfirstfoodpack,

THATgive themone of theirowncookbooks–aback-

to-basicsguideto usingtheingredientsavailable at the

foodbank to make easy, nutritious meals.

CHILDRENINSCOTLAND

ChildrenIn Scotland’sFood,Families,Futures(FFF)

projectwassetupin 2016 toprovidefoodforfamilies

overtheschoolholidays.“Butit’s morethan that,” says

projectleaderNeilOrr. FFFsetsupsafe,comfortable

communityhubswherefamiliesgatherto joininon the

cooking,preparation andplay.

Acore featureof thehubsistheirterm-timefamily

cookingclub. It’s apre-emptive resource, makingsure

communitiesare “gearedup” to usethoseskillsduringthe

holidays whenbudgetsare tighterandingredientsare

scarcer. The CISteamusecommunitiescookingandeating

togetherasopportunitiestobringinadditionalsupport.

They willwork withfamiliesto tacklehealthinequalities

andtheattainmentgap betweenwealthyandpoor.

“Anecdotallytherehasbeenajumpindemand,” says

Orr. “UniversalCreditiscitedagainand again, forcing

people into desperate situations.”

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