Salisbury food poverty charity warns children could miss meals this summer
The Trussell Trust helped feed over 160,000 children last summer
A food poverty charity based in Salisbury is warning more children than ever are going to miss meals during the summer holiday's this year.
Last summer, the Trussell Trust helped feed 160,000 children - and they're bracing for an even bigger number in 2024.
This year, they've partnered up with Tesco and it's Stronger Starts scheme to support children through the summer break.
As part of the scheme, the charity is benefiting from a ÂŁ1million donation from the supermarket to keep children healthy and active while away from the classroom.
Research by Tesco found one in 12 children have missed out on meals as parents grapple with the extra cost of school holidays.
They also found the summer break can see children become isolated and less active during holidays, with almost half of families (42%) saying their children will be missing out on clubs and activities due to cost.
Tesco will also be offering pre-packaged food donation bags at their larger stores and its Kids Eat Free scheme will run in its cafes over the summer.
An unsustainable position
Sophie Carre from the Trussell Trust told us the driving force of people turning to foodbanks is income not covering the cost of essentials. She said it's unsustainable.
"It's really unacceptable the levels of hardship that we're seeing," she said, adding: "We know that one in seven people are facing hunger in the UK and we know that almost half of the households refer to foodbanks include children under 16, so we know how much pressure so many families and so many parents are under to make sure that their children have food on the table."
She said it can be an isolating experience going through hunger, but it's something we can change.
Sophie said: "We know what's driving people to food banks, we know what we need to do to ensure people can afford the essentials and we are really committed to working towards the future.
"It's something that we need to continue highlighting because so many people close to you know on our doorsteps are really, really struggling and has long term impacts."
She's urging us to help out if we can by picking up something for the foodbank to put in the collection points.