A mum-of-three has told how she has eaten only one meal a day for the last two months so her own sons don’t go hungry after the cost of living crisis left her on the edge.
Single mum Claire Pulfrey, 38, has seen the amount she spends on energy more than double, from £10 a week at the beginning of the year to nearly £25 today.
So she is very much in favour of all children from poorer families having free school meals.
She says: “It would mean parents won’t have to worry about finding money to pay for school meals or packed lunches, and might have some left over to pay the bills or buy more food for home.
“I know what it feels like to be on the edge and not know if you’ll have enough money to make it through the week. Anything that could help put a little back in our pocket would be a huge help.”
As her weekly shop has risen in price Claire - who is a member of the Mirror’s Cost of Living Panel - says she has been skipping breakfast and lunch every day, with her only meal being in the evening with sons Dan, 17, Theo, nine and seven-year-old Samuel.
Claire, from Grimsby, a former teaching assistant at a special school, says: “I started to miss breakfast after my money dropped in January. But then my energy bills started to go up, so by April I’d decided to stop having lunch too.
“I could cope if it was just the price of food that was going up. But my gas and electric went up my so much, that was what knocked me. So now I have one meal a day, and that’s fine as long as my children don’t go hungry.”
Claire says her body has “got used” to eating only at tea time. “It’s mind over matter. I try to get on with things to help me forget.
“At first I was getting really sluggish and tired, but now I think my body’s got used to it.
“If I’ve got a bit extra in I might treat myself to a bit of a sandwich, but it’s rare. I used to have a sandwich, some yoghurt, a piece of fruit or a packet of crisps, but now I try to hold on until I make food for everyone at night.”
Claire's story comes as the Mirror reported the government is being urged to give free school meals to children in Universal Credit families.
Families on UC can get free school meals only if their annual income is less than £7,400, excluding benefits.
A letter from unions NEU, ASCL, NASUWT and charity TeachFirst to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi warned school dinners can be a child’s only hot nutritious meal in a day and hunger can be a “real barrier to learning”.
The group said: “A quality school meal helps improve children’s concentration and behaviour during lessons.
“We witness, first-hand, the effect they can have on improving school attendance, on children’s health, and academic performance.
“The intensifying cost-of-living crisis means many more are now struggling to afford school lunches.
“We see the devastating reality of children coming to school unable to afford to buy lunch because their family circumstances means they fall outside the restrictive free school meal eligibility criteria.”
