Cruel benefit cuts and soaring living costs could mean 250,000 children go hungry this Christmas.
A worrying report from the Childhood Trust says one in five families it surveyed fear they will not be able to afford a turkey dinner – and thousands will go without presents.
Twenty-eight per cent of mums questioned said they have gone without food so their kids could eat.
Trust chief executive Laurence Guinness said he was “gravely concerned”.
He said: “The social and economic situation across fuel, food and support services will force families into making impossible decisions between feeding their child – or keeping them warm.
“Decisions no families should be forced to make.
“The scale of inequality has been made much worse by rising costs of living and, coupled with the reductions in Universal Credit, it’s already having a disastrous impact on the most vulnerable children.”
The report – with the sad title Cold, Hungry and Stressed – focused on 55,318 children represented by 30 charities.
It found 71% of parents are worried about finances this winter. And 57% said the Government – which has faced a string of protests over free meals for needy kids – is not doing enough to help.
Brenda McCarthy, 34, a mother of two from London, told the Sunday Mirror: “My mental health is suffering because of constantly thinking about what we can afford as a family. It keeps me up at night.
“We are on such a tight budget this Christmas and I’m already surfing around for deals on food to make sure we can have some sort of dinner.
“Sometimes we will need to pay for something at school for the kids because we don’t want them to miss out.
“That has to come out of our weekly food budget.”
The report estimates 14,152 (26%) of the children affected won’t even get Christmas presents.
A nine-year-old girl called Aisha heartbreakingly told the charity: “On Christmas Day I just don’t get out of bed.
“There’s no point. There’s nothing to get up for.”
Another report from poverty charity Turn2us suggested some societal groups are hit harder than others.
The research revealed that women, young people, disabled people and some ethnic groups are more severely affected by life events such as an illness or losing their job.
To donate to The Childhood Trust's Christmas Challenge, click here.
