Food Bank Aid warns demand will surge across its 30 partner food banks as families lose free school meals and face rising holiday costs
Thousands of children across London face going without reliable access to nutritious food this summer as schools break up for the holidays, ending access to the free school meals that many low-income families depend on throughout the year.
Food Bank Aid, which supplies more than 30 food banks across London, is warning that the six-week summer break represents the most acute period of food insecurity many families experience annually — and that demand on the food bank network is expected to rise significantly in the weeks ahead.
The Scale of Child Hunger in London
The figures behind the warning are stark:
- Food Bank Aid’s network currently supports more than 20,000 people every month across London, including almost 5,000 children
- One in three children in London lives in poverty
- In some of the London boroughs served by Food Bank Aid’s partner organisations, that figure rises to almost one in two
- 86 percent of Food Bank Aid’s partner food banks reported increased demand over the past year
- 90 percent expect demand to grow further in 2026
- One in two partner food banks said they would struggle to remain open without Food Bank Aid’s support
These figures place London’s child food poverty problem in sharp relief. Despite being one of the wealthiest cities in the world, the capital contains some of the highest concentrations of child deprivation in England, with food insecurity cutting across borough boundaries and affecting families in employment as well as those out of work.
Why Summer Is the Hardest Period
For many children from low-income households, school provides far more than education. Breakfast clubs and free school meals offer reliable daily access to nutritious food that families cannot always provide at home on current benefit levels or low wages.
When schools close for summer, that support disappears immediately. At the same time, families face increased costs — higher food bills from children eating at home throughout the day, childcare costs for working parents, and the general financial pressure of six weeks without the structured support the school term provides.
The combination of lost food provision and increased costs creates a predictable surge in demand at food banks across the capital every summer — a surge that Food Bank Aid’s network must absorb at the precise moment when donation levels from the public typically fall.
Long-Term Consequences Beyond Six Weeks
The impact of summer food insecurity extends beyond hunger during the holiday period itself. Research from The Food Foundation’s Broken Plate 2026 report provides specific data on the long-term developmental consequences:
- Children in the most deprived communities are 62 percent more likely to be of short stature by age five than those in the least deprived areas
- These children are less likely to catch up in height by age 10
- Inadequate nutrition affects energy levels, immune function, and cognitive development — making it harder for children to return to school in September ready to learn
These findings are significant because they demonstrate that food insecurity during childhood is not simply a short-term welfare issue. Nutritional deprivation during critical developmental windows has measurable consequences that persist through primary school and beyond.
What Food Bank Aid Does
Food Bank Aid operates as a supply organisation rather than a direct service provider — it stocks and supplies partner food banks rather than distributing food directly to families. The charity provides more than 100 essential food and household items to its network, enabling individual food banks to maintain consistent supply even as demand fluctuates.
This model means Food Bank Aid’s impact multiplies across its entire partner network. When it can keep food banks stocked, those organisations can continue supporting families throughout the summer rather than reducing opening hours or limiting what they can provide.
The charity’s annual School’s Out, Food’s Out campaign runs during the summer break specifically to address the seasonal funding and donation gap that coincides with peak demand.
The Wider Context: Child Poverty in London
London’s child poverty figures sit within a broader national picture that has deteriorated over recent years. The cost of living increases experienced since 2021 have eroded the real value of household incomes for low-earning families, with food costs rising faster than many other household expenses during this period.
Free school meals in England are currently available to children in reception through to Year 2 universally, and to older children whose families receive qualifying benefits. However, eligibility thresholds mean many working families on low incomes fall outside the criteria — creating a group of children who are food insecure but not captured in free school meal statistics.
London’s housing costs compound this further. Families spending disproportionately high shares of income on rent have correspondingly less available for food, making the removal of school meal provision during holidays a more acute problem in the capital than in many other parts of England.
How to Help
Donations to Food Bank Aid’s School’s Out, Food’s Out campaign directly fund the supply of food and household essentials to partner food banks across London throughout the summer period.
Donations can be made at foodbankaid.org.uk/schools-out
Food banks across London also accept physical donations of long-life food items. Commonly needed items include tinned protein, pasta, rice, cooking sauces, breakfast cereal, UHT milk, and nappies. Individual food banks publish specific wish lists on their websites and social media channels.
