In a study conducted by Northumbria University’s Healthy
Living Lab around half of the children who received free school meal vouchers are
reporting a significant drop in their intake of fruit and vegetables since
schools closed in March.
Just over half of pupils who would have received free school
meals at school stated they had eaten no fresh vegetables across a three-day
period following the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown. Almost half reported having eaten
no fruit in the same period, yet many reported a large increase in consumption
of sugary drinks and snacks.
The findings of the study have been released today (Monday 8
June), a week after many English schools re-opened their doors to children in
selected year groups and just a few days after the Welsh government announced
schools would be re-opening at the end of the month.
Northumbria University’s Healthy Living Lab is one of the
UK’s leading research centres into issues around the provision of child feeding
programmes and holiday hunger.
Researchers were keen to investigate what children entitled
to free school meals would be eating when it became apparent that the UK was
going to enter a period of lockdown and schools would be closing their doors to
all but the most vulnerable pupils and children of key workers.
Although the Department for Education implemented a shopping
voucher scheme worth £15 per child per week in England to provide support for
those children who would normally receive free school meals, many parents and
schools reported a number of issues with the scheme and the devolved
governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland chose to introduce
alternative schemes.
The researchers worked with almost 60
nine-to-twelve-year-olds in London and the North East of England who completed
specially designed questionnaires on their eating, sleeping and physical activity
across six days. Data were collected on three consecutive days before, and
three consecutive days during, lockdown. The questionnaires were returned to
the researchers by parents for statistical analysis.
The preliminary findings show a significant decrease in the
amount of fruit children have been eating. Before school closures they ate, on
average, just over one portion of fruit per day. During the three-day reporting
period during lockdown, almost half of the children (45%) said they hadn’t
eaten any fruit, with the remaining children eating an average of half a
portion of fruit per day.
Similar results were seen in the children’s responses on the
amount of vegetables they had eaten. More than half of the children (55%) said
they had not eaten any fresh vegetables during the three days during lockdown.
The mean vegetable intake dropped from just over two portions per day when
children were attending school, to an average of half a portion per day at
home.
However, a four-fold increase was reported in the amount of
sugar-sweetened drinks consumed, together with a substantial rise in the amount
of crisps, chocolates and sweets being eaten. Children’s consumption of
unhealthy snacks increased from an average of one over the three days when they
were at school to six portions across three days at home during lockdown.
The researchers also asked if the children had skipped any
meals. Approximately 25% said they had skipped at least one meal a day prior to
schools closing – usually their breakfast – and this increased to 35% following
lockdown.
Professor Greta Defeyter, Director of the Healthy Living Lab
said: “These preliminary findings make for pretty horrific reading. As a nation
our shopping habits have changed, with an increase in shopping online and shopping
locally. However, if a parent doesn’t have internet access or has a low data
allowance, can’t afford the minimum shop for free delivery, or lives in a ‘food
desert’ that is populated with fast food takeaways then it is hardly surprising
that, in the absence of free school breakfasts and free school lunches, some children’s
overall dietary intake has changed. While I welcome the fact that more
supermarket chains are now included in the DfE’s voucher scheme the preliminary
findings in our report highlight wider, systematic, societal failures.”
Baroness Boycott, Chair of the charity Feeding Britain
agreed, saying: “The social
and economic consequences of coronavirus are exposing millions of people in our
country to hunger and malnutrition. As these preliminary findings show, we
need a seamless year-round programme of nutritious meals for all children which
incorporates school breakfasts and dinners, as well as a continuation of that
service, alongside enriching activities, during the holiday periods. The
automatic registration of all eligible families for Healthy Start vouchers –
the take-up of which is pitifully low – would also increase the flow of fresh
fruit and vegetables to young children.”
Professor Defeyter said there is a
high probability that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds will be
most disadvantaged when the new academic year begins in September, given the
combination of a lack of healthy nutritious food and the educational learning
loss experienced due to school closures, which will disproportionally affect
disadvantaged children.
She called for a universal school meal
service and school breakfast club programme to be made available to all
children, to ensure equal access to a healthy diet to promote health, and learning,
adding: “Our report highlights the importance of free school meal
provision, and the importance of access to healthy, nutritious food in every
community. We believe that all children have the right to access nutritious
healthy food within their community and school.
“In the immediate term, we urge the UK government to rethink
school summer holiday provision to ensure that all children from low income
households are provided with the opportunity to access healthy food, cultural,
social and physical activities during
the upcoming holiday period.
“Expansion of the DfE’s funded holiday provision programme will
support parents in childcare provision and their return to work, reduce
parental stress, ensure children receive healthy, nutritious food that complies
with school food standards, and provide a solid foundation for an extended school programme to provide long-term support
to address educational learning loss."
Dr Emily Mann, who also worked on the
study, said that parents and schools had reported difficulties in accessing the
food voucher scheme. “We already know that households with children eligible for
free school meals are at risk of food insecurity. Parents and schools in
England complained about the time taken to receive the vouchers and said some
shops refused to accept them as they are limited to certain supermarkets," she said.
“The additional £15 per child from the food vouchers has not
enabled the lowest-income households to move out of this risk area, especially
at a time when household income is likely to have suffered due to the economic
impact of the pandemic.”
The full report is entitled The Free School Meal Voucher
Scheme: What are children actually eating and drinking?
Northumbria University’s Healthy Living Lab has been
instrumental in ensuring children have access to healthy meals at school,
during both term time and holidays. Its research has demonstrated the benefits that school breakfast clubs brought to children in terms of nutrition and educational
attainment which supported the rollout of the National School Breakfast
Programme. The lab has also highlighted the importance of school holiday clubs
to ensure those children from low-income families can continue to access
healthy meals and educational opportunities.
Professor Defeyter is a committee member of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on School Food and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger.
She has provided evidence on food poverty, holiday provision and school
breakfast clubs to a number of Select Committees. Earlier this year she was
named as one of The Big Issue’s Top 100 Changemakers for the positive impact of her work on
society.
