Public Policy Exchange: Ending Child Food Poverty in the UK

Venue

Online

Child food poverty continues to grow in the UK. Nearly a quarter of households with children under four don't have enough food, according to according to The Food Foundation’s latest estimate, and children under five are 25% more likely to experience food poverty than older children, all of which is driving obesity and mental health crises, a report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) warned in November 2024. Official government figures released in March 2025 showed a record 4.5 million children living in poverty in the UK, with an extra 100,000 children living below the breadline in the year to April 2024. The data showed food poverty and hunger also rose, with 300,000 more children in households reliant on food banks over the previous 12 months, and an increase in children in food insecure families, meaning they struggled to afford regular and healthy meals. Analysis also consistently shows that, for example, the North of England faces a higher prevalence of child food poverty compared to the rest of England, as evidenced in a 2023 report from the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group Child of the North, with regional disparities across the UK driving food insecurity.

This symposium will serve as an invaluable opportunity to bring together stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, charities, local authorities, policymakers, and schools, to discuss the underlying causes of child food poverty, evaluate current efforts to tackle food insecurity and improve access to healthy food, and exchange views on what a comprehensive strategy to tackle child food poverty should look like.

Programme

Learn about and assess trends in and drivers of child food poverty across the UK, its impacts on children’s life outcomes, and the different approaches being taken to tackle it across the UK at local and national levels
Exchange views on the impact that scrapping the two-child benefit cap would have on levels of child food poverty
Develop comprehensive strategies for tackling child food poverty and improving children’s diets
Design particular interventions for families with children under five
Evaluate the effectiveness of the Healthy Start scheme and how it could be improved
Understand the role that access to free school meals can play in tackling child food poverty and how access can be expanded
Exchange views on the role that local authorities, schools and colleges, charities, supermarkets and the wider food sector, the media and other stakeholders can play in improving children’s diets
Exchange views on the factors driving regional disparities in child food poverty and the interventions needed to address these and to improve outcomes for communities with particular challenges around food poverty and dietary health

Tickets are available for public sector, not-for-profit, NGOs and academics for £199 or £179 for 2 or more places. Tickets for private sector representatives available for £399 or £349 for 2 or more.