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The research, published by and launched at an event held in London today (Tuesday 2 April), also found that free school meals are not accessible to many children whose parents are on a low income. Even when they are, they may not provide enough food for children鈥檚 needs, with some teenagers having just 拢2 a day to spend on food.

Some children who come from the most severely deprived families, with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), do not eat at all during the school day.
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The European study is published in a book, 鈥樷�� and is written by researchers at the IOE鈥檚 Thomas Coram Research Unit. It involves 45 low-income families in two areas of South East England and tells the stories of 51 children鈥檚 experiences of food at home, at school and in social settings.

The study found that while some schools do not differentiate between pupils entitled to free school meals and those who pay, other schools identify children on free school meals in particular by restricting the food options that they can select. This caused embarrassment for children, with one London pupil who receives free school meals saying:
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鈥淲hen she [lunchtime staff at the checkout] was like 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get that, you鈥檙e free school meals鈥� like I was really embarrassed cos people were waiting behind me, I was kind of like 鈥淥h my God鈥濃��. And it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e really restricted to what you can eat with free school meals. 鈥�, so now I just get what I know I鈥檓 safe with鈥�so a small baguette and carton of juice.鈥�

Children whose families have NRPF - usually because of unresolved immigration status - are not entitled to free school meals. Although some schools fund lunches for these children, others do not, with the result that children in these families simply go hungry during school.

The families鈥� testaments also showed that just over half of the parents (23 out of 45) in the study ate too little food, went hungry, skipped meals or used food banks. Some parents forwent food so that their children could eat.听

One single parent said: 鈥渓ast week I didn鈥檛 even eat for four days [鈥�] I have to lie to my kids and tell them I鈥檝e eaten so that they鈥檙e okay, because as long as my kids are eating then I鈥檓 okay.鈥�

, co-author of the book, said: 鈥淔ood poverty and its effects on children鈥檚 and young people鈥檚 physical and emotional wellbeing is a matter of grave concern. In the face of piecemeal responses and government neglect, the outlook is set to remain bleak. Radical change is needed.听

鈥淭o tackle the food poverty of children and families, the government should make use of research on budget standards to ensure that wages and benefits, in combination, are adequate for a socially acceptable standard of living and eating, which recognises the fundamental role of food in health and social inclusion.鈥�

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E: rowan.walker@ucl.ac.uk

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