Report: Nourishing the future: making healthy food accessible for every child, Barnardo’s
What are the main points?
- Nearly one in five UK parents have to buy unhealthy food for their children because they can’t afford healthier options, found a survey of more than 2000 parents.
- While 60% of parents who had to buy unhealthy food for their children in the last year were worried about what they were giving their children.
- Recommendations to the four UK governments include making school lunches free for all primary school children with an immediate extension to all families receiving Universal Credit. Plus, increasing the value of healthy shopping vouchers for young families on the lowest budgets.
- Barnardo’s and other organisations in the School Food Review coalition say the data shows the increasing need to provide children with access to free and nutritious school meals across the school day.
Expert Thought
Lynn Perry, Barnardo’s chief executive, said: ‘The food we eat as children has a huge impact. Sadly here in the UK, far too many children and young people are missing out on nutritious food – with huge knock-on effects for their health, both now and in the future. We know that parents are making big sacrifices so their children have the best food they can afford.’
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