Pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to end holiday hunger by offering vouchers to families with children eligible for free school meals.
MPs, peers and campaigners have backed a letter from the National Education Union (NEU) demanding a return to £15 weekly payments per child over the summer holidays.
The Mirror has joined forces with the NEU for our No Child Left Behind campaign, which aims to stamp out child poverty.
One in five children, or 1.74 million, in England were entitled to free school meals in January 2021 compared to 1.44 million (17.3%) in January 2020.
Free school meals are traditionally offered in term time but footballer Marcus Rashford shamed the Government into feeding kids in the holidays during the pandemic.
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Instead of offering full free school meals this summer, local councils have been given funding to run free holiday clubs for children eligible for the benefit.
But critics say the Holiday Activities and Food Programme doesn’t go far enough as it covers activities for four days a week, for four weeks of the holidays.
Recent analysis by Labour found needy kids would only receive food support on 14 out of the 30 weekdays over the summer, amounting to an estimated 24 million missed meals.
In a letter to the PM, NEU Joint General Secretaries Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted said: “We urge the Government to re-introduce the scheme implemented during previous school holidays, in which families were allocated £15 per child every week, to cover the entirety of the upcoming six-week summer break.
“Come September, many children will come back to school hungry, malnourished and unable to concentrate.
“The Government has pledged to ensure that students from disadvantaged backgrounds aren’t left behind - but a lack of regular, dependable nutritious meals has a huge impact on learning and engagement when children and young people return to school.”
Shadow Children’s Minister Tulip Siddiq also backed the call, saying: “Ministers have had to be shamed into providing food for hungry children throughout the pandemic and it is a disgrace that we are having to do this all over again.
“Teachers are warning of the devastating impact of children arriving at the school gates too hungry to learn, yet this Conservative Government is again stripping away the support that millions of families rely on.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Thousands of children will continue to benefit this summer from our expanded Holiday Activities and Food programme, which will run in every local authority in England, providing enriching activities and healthy food.
“The extended Covid Local Support Grant, worth £429.1 million, will further ensure that families are well supported with food and essentials throughout the summer holidays.”
