Cost of feeding children leaves parents dreading summer holidays
Sandy Lawrence from Cornwall Accessible Activities Programme says the six-week holiday is difficult to navigate and manage
Last updated 30th Apr 2024
Struggling parents are 'dreading' the long school summer holiday because of the extra pressure it puts on their finances according to new research.
Charity Cash For Kids has been speaking to some of the families their fundraising supports to determine the impact of the summer holidays on vulnerable families.
The survey revealed the cost of extra meals over the holidays affects family finances, mental health and relationships.
84% of families surveyed skipping meals
Responses to Cash For Kids' survey uncovered a picture of spiralling debt, high use of food banks and community food groups and an increase in anxiety, depression and feelings of guilt amongst parents who feel as if they’re failing their children.
- 84% of the families they support are skipping meals once a week and almost a third are going without meals on a daily basis
- 80% are using a food bank or similar community food scheme in order to put food on the table
- Almost three-quarters expect to go into debt over the school holidays
- Around half can only afford to buy fresh fruit and vegetables once every two weeks
Cash for Kids Day, taking place this Thursday 2nd May, will be raising funds specifically to tackle the problem of holiday hunger.
With the cost-of-living crisis still impacting the UK’s most vulnerable families, the charity says that 72% of parents they spoke to expect to go into debt to cope with the added financial pressure of the summer holidays.
School holidays "difficult to navigate and manage"
Sandy Lawrence is the founder and director of Cornwall Accessible Activities Programme (CAAP): "The summer holidays is such a long period of time for families, particularly with autistic children and children with learning disabilities. It's a difficult time because all of their routines are out place and there's often melt downs.
"I've had families that have written to me and asked me for a food bank voucher on a Friday afternoon because they haven't got enough food in the cupboard to feed their children over the weekend.
"Being able to give them a Cash For Kids voucher just to get them over that weekend has been literally life saving for some of these families."
Others revealed that they had seen family units break down because of the stress and that children had resorted to stealing from their peers or shops because they believed they were helping their parents.
Sally Aitchison MBE, Managing Director of Cash For Kids said: "What we have heard loud and clear from the results of this survey is just how hard families are still finding it to fund the basics and how much they are dreading the approaching summer holidays.
"What should be six weeks of fun, family bonding and a chance to for children to regroup before the start of a school year, is in fact an anxiety filled time of worry for many parents and children alike.
"We’re so grateful to everyone that is supporting Cash for Kids Day this year - their generosity gives us the chance to make a huge difference to the children we help."
What is the Government doing to help?
A government spokesperson told us: “We understand times are tough for many families. To help, we are investing over £200m to in our holiday programme to provide healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families.
"We have also extended eligibility for free school meals more than any other government over the past half a century – doubling the number of children receiving them since 2010.
“We have also provided support worth on average £3,800 per household, including raising benefits, unfreezing the Local Housing Allowance and helping people with essentials through the Household Support Fund.”
Cash for Kids Day is coming on Thursday 2nd May to support schemes and organisations that are tackling holiday hunger. Find out more at hitsradio.co.uk/cfkday.