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by Jess Gibson

Tackling food poverty in the early years should be a priority of the government’s Child Poverty Taskforce, a new report by the education thinktank Education Policy Institute (EPI) has argued. 

The EPI report, funded by the KPMG Foundation, investigates food poverty in the early years, looking at the effectiveness of national policies already in place as well as what can be learned from local place-based initiatives and other countries.  

It was produced following a series of evidence reviews and expert interviews with key organisations whose work focuses on food poverty and/or early years. 

The report highlights that children under five are 25% more likely to experience food poverty than older children, with 24% of households with children under four experiencing food poverty in January 2024. It also highlights that early years food poverty is associated with worse physical health – including obesity – as well as worse mental health and behavioural outcomes in later life. 

The report also finds that: 

• food poverty is an offshoot of income poverty, with the cost-of-living increase affecting food prices and impacting low-income households more.  

• the Healthy Start Scheme does not do enough to support children experiencing food poverty, with the restrictive criteria potentially excluding many children experiencing food poverty. 

• there is unequal access to free meals in early years settings, with only those currently attending maintained nurseries and school-based nurseries eligible for free meals if they meet the income and benefits-based eligibility criteria, and the child attends before and after lunch. 

As a result, the report recommends that the government’s upcoming Child Poverty Strategy should have a focus on food poverty experienced by children under five. 

Dr Kerris Cooper, senior researcher in early years and inequalities at the education policy institute, said: “This research highlights the urgency of addressing food poverty for children under five. We know that the first five years is a critical period of development, yet we also know that children of this age are more likely to experience food poverty. 

“The evidence is clear on how damaging food poverty is for young children’s outcomes. For the government to achieve its mission of breaking down barriers to opportunity it needs to take action to reduce food poverty for under-fives. 

“We have an opportunity with the upcoming child poverty strategy to address the disadvantage faced by the youngest children who have been overlooked in food poverty policy and debate.” 

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: "The Education Policy Institute is absolutely right to call on the government to tackle food poverty in the early years.   

"Not only are children under five more likely to suffer from food poverty, but as the EPI’s report shows, experiencing this in the early years is set to be particularly damaging to a child’s health and long-term development.  

"With so many families struggling with rising costs, we know that for some children, the food they receive when at nursery, pre-school or a childminding setting might well be their only opportunity for a healthy meal. Despite this, however, early entitlement funding not only continues to fall below delivery costs but also cannot be used to cover the cost of meals and snacks in early years settings, creating a significant barrier to addressing food poverty as many providers are unable to provide food without implementing additional fees.   

"So, as the government explores how to tackle poverty, we fully agree that addressing food poverty in the early years must be central to this and urge ministers to commit to providing additional early years funding to cover the cost of food provision in settings as part of this important mission."