This research by the University of Bristol has exposed how food charity in schools is becoming mainstreamed across England amidst the cost-of-living crisis, welfare cutbacks, and entrenched poverty.
The findings show an expanding patchwork of school food banks, pantries and similar initiatives have been introduced to support families struggling to make ends meet and feed their children.
Spiralling food and energy prices were reported to be compounding the issue of food insecurity, compelling schools to step in as a safety net in the absence of adequate welfare state support.
According to the lead author Dr William Baker, years of austerity and cutbacks, and rocketing food prices has meant millions of parents can’t afford to feed their children or heat their homes. Schools see the consequences of this every day, and many are responding by providing food to families through their own food banks and pantries.
The research involved 25 schools nationwide, comprising primaries and secondaries in cities including London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leicester, as well as smaller towns in urban, rural and coastal locations.