One in three children in Cornwall is living in poverty
The figures have been revealed ahead of a debate in Parliament, sparked by a petition started by footballer Marcus Rashford
Almost 30,000 children in Cornwall were living in poverty last year, which is the equivalent of one in three.
The figures from End Child Poverty have been revealed ahead of a debate in Parliament later (Monday 24th May).
That was sparked by a petition started by footballer Marcus Rashford, calling to expand free school meals in and out of term-time.
The petition has been signed by more than one million people!
Our children's charity, Cash for Kids, recently raised almost 2.5 million pounds to help struggling families across the UK.
Chief Executive Sally Aitchison tells us Covid has had a big impact and is likely to have pushed the figures up even further.
"The End Child Poverty stats only report up to March 2020 so although they're shocking, we know that this situation will be even worse now.
"The impact on children ranges from poor nutrition, chronic disease and mental health issues.
"Covid has impacted in so many ways. It's job losses, it's families on zero-hours contracts pushed into poverty and, tragically, loss of life.
"One grandmother contacted us on Friday and her grandson had lost both of his parents and his uncle to Covid at the age of eleven.
"That's life-changing for anyone but for a child to have to deal with that is heartbreaking".
Sally Aitchison, CEO of Cash for Kids