Parents skip meals to provide summer food for their child

With many children out of school and on holiday, an increasing number of families are struggling to feed their child. One of the main reasons that over 10 per cent of parents in Scotland and across the UK struggle is that they can’t use the free school meal scheme during that time. So instead they cut back on what they eat in order to free up the money for feeding their child.

Not only do many parents rely on meals from their school to feed the student, but they also use the food provided by after-school clubs. Or some students can get a breakfast from one of the charities or meal clubs in Scotland. The Trussell Trust as well as Tesco reports that as many as 70% of families in food poverty rely on the school meal scheme, and since that does not operate in the summer, it leads to hardships.

The Trussell Trust reports an increasing demand on the foodbank network in the UK during the summer months. This is due to both families being on holiday as well as single adults that are now on the Universal Credit. Those two recent changes to a household income is causing many more households to fall behind on their bills as well as their ability to buy groceries for their family. These two groups of individuals (as well as others) are requesting a parcel of food from the Trussell Trust.

Parents need to eat too. With about 12% not skipping meals so their child can eat, they are realizing they need assistance. So now there are more households that are turning to the centres in their town or city order to get a parcel of groceries so that the student can eat during the summer. This is putting an increased demand on the entire system. Luckily there are resources available as there are hundreds of foodbanks available to help feed a family.

The foodbanks in Scotland are doing their best to meet the demand. But they rely on donations of everything from tinned meat to soup, veggies, and the like. Theretofore now is the time to contribute to the Trussell Trust. Or even if you can’t bring them any groceries to pass out, they also need volunteers to work at the centres. They can help stock the cupboard, review applications, and like people living in poverty to other benefits.

It does not benefit the family if the parent starts to skip too many meals. This can impact their ability to get a or hold down job. It can also lead to lethargic performance at the company they work at because the parent is hungry. So they too need to get help from a foodbank.

Not only is there an extra “mouth” to feed when the kids are on holiday, but the parent also is often saving money for bills for the upcoming year. As the student will also need uniforms, so maybe the family also is saving for that. Or they are using their money to build up savings for when the cold Scotland winter starts and the family needs to keep their heat on. So there are many reasons why between 10 to 15% of parents are skipping meals.

Anyone with a child may get priority from one of the Trussell Trust food banks. They can also be used a few times during the holiday. So call a local distribution center for a voucher which can be used for a parcel of groceries to feed your family over the holiday.