Rising Numbers Of Children In Yorkshire Going To School Hungry
A new scheme has now been launched to tackle the problem in Hull.
Hull City Council are launching a new scheme to get children and parents eating and cooking better.
The announcement comes as new figures show more than 40% of teachers in our region are having to take food into the classroom to give to hungry children.
The problem is on the rise in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire and is above the national average - according to new research.
Hull City Council's new pilot school nutrition programme will involve cooking classes, farm and allotment visits and education around healthy eating and cooking.
As part of the three-year project, volunteers will be trained to deliver ‘cook and eat’ sessions.
A number of targets have been set for the project, including: • 80 per cent of participating schools begin growing their own food • A five per cent increase in school meal uptake • 90 per cent of participating children eating breakfast every day • A 10 per cent improvement in the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten for participating children and parents • Implementation of a healthy eating policy at all schools.
Councillor Rosie Nicola said:
“Good health is an essential foundation for learning – studies have clearly indicated direct educational benefits associated with the provision of nutritionally balanced meals, including increased concentration, attendance and attainment.
“The Whole School Food and Nutrition approach tackles a range of obstacles to healthy eating, including knowledge around how healthy food can be prepared when time and money is tight. This programme will help equip children for the best start in life and give them the opportunity to learn skills which will be valuable throughout their lives”.
A total of 45 schools have been chosen to take part.
Jill Rutter is behind the new research which shows more than a third of teachers here see children coming into school hungry every day and over 40% are taking food into school to feed hungry pupils. Jill said:
"One in five teachers said the problem was worse than this time last year and it has a big impact on individual children; if you are hungry, you can't concentrate and you drift off and some people even go to sleep which can have an impact on the whole class.
"There are parents who can't afford to put three meals a day in front of their children. There are other reasons too such as parents are often too rushed and stressed to get their young children off to school in a morning."