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A survey of 10,000 teachers has found that 28% of teachers across England have brought in food for pupils in the last term, which is up from 26% in summer term 2023. The survey for FareShare by TeacherTapp aimed to explore how many students teachers have had to personally feed due to concerns over their welfare.

The North West and London are the areas which have seen a large increase in teachers bringing in food. The survey also found that 35% of teachers said their school already provides food in this situation, with this figure rising to almost half (46%) in the most deprived areas of the country. 

FareShare works with the food industry to get good to eat food, that would otherwise go to waste, to a network of over 8,000 charities across the UK. Many families have become reliant on these over the summer holidays. One of those charities is Nippers that provides activities and meals to children during the holidays and after school.

Pam, who runs Nippers, said: “Parents have to go out to work. Therefore, their children need somewhere to come. The tendency now has been to make sure they have a meal with us, whether it’s during the holidays or after school. That's where FareShare comes in. The amount food we serve would be a big demand on a budget if we had to pay for it all. We don't spend anything on food other than what we get from FareShare, which is a massive support.

“Families come to Nippers for more than just meals. With encouragement towards experimenting with new foods, we try to fill the gap so children have the opportunity to learn new skills, socialise, be creative and go out and play. It allows them to take risks, but knowing that there’s always someone there to support them. We don’t want food going into landfill. We want it to be eaten and enjoyed. We try and give the children as much as they can eat at Nippers and we encourage them to take some home with them for their families.”

Yet despite the efforts of FareShare and other similar organisations, the equivalent of ten billion meals worth of food still goes to waste across the food industry every year. FareShare’s manifesto ‘Where’s The Food?’ sets out plans of how to get more of this food to support communities in need and foster a more sustainable food system.

George Wright, chief executive of FareShare added: “Our teachers should be focused on educating, not filling the gaps in food provision. We need the new Government to collaborate with the food redistribution sector to ensure more nutritious food reaches people in need.  

“Our manifesto outlines the steps needed to make this a reality. With the right support to we can ensure more nutritious food reaches children and they get the nourishment they need to thrive in school and beyond.”