Children are starving to eat erasers
The British newspaper The Guardian reported that school principals and food aid organizations are struggling to cope with the increasing demands of families who cannot afford to buy food for their children.
In a survey to be published next month by “Chefs in Schools,” the charity that trains chefs for school kitchens, The Guardian reports. “Principals say the government is leaving schools alone to deal with the escalating crisis.” message will be emphasized.
Increasing energy bills are forcing more families to choose between heating and buying food, the report said, with the survey revealing that many schools in England saw a “heartbreaking” increase in the number of hungry children even before winter.
“A school in Lewisham, southeast of London, told charity about a boy who pretended to eat from an empty lunchbox because they didn’t qualify for free school meals and didn’t want his friends to know they didn’t have food,” the report said.
The news also included the following statements by Naomi Duncan, Chairman of the Board of Chefs in Schools:
“We hear about kids eating erasers at school because they’re so hungry. The kids have been coming home without eating since lunch the day before. The government needs to do something.”
“Supporting desperate families could push hundreds of schools into budget deficits”
In the news, it was pointed out that children aged 4-5 in England have the right to receive free meals in their schools until the 2nd grade.
On the other hand, according to the “Child Poverty Action Group” in the news, only children whose parents earn less than £7,400 a year can get free food, while 800,000 children at the poverty level are deprived of it.
The report also included the evaluations of Paul Gosling, President of the National Association of School Principals. “The government knows that when children are hungry and cold in the morning, schools will step in and help. However, it is not right to leave this to us without any extra support.” it was said.
Gosling also commented that supporting desperate families would push hundreds of schools into a budget deficit, due to rising energy bills and unpaid teacher salaries.
The news welcomed school principals’ announcement last week that the government would limit electricity and gas in schools to a lower “government-backed price”. The government has reduced the payment of a school paying £10,000 a month for energy bills to £4,000.
However, in the news, it was noted that school principals expressed their concerns that the upper limit was only offered for 6 months.
“There should not be a child starving in the country”
The news, which also included the views of Craig Johnson, the founder of Launch Foods, a charity that provides free lunch to 300 students a day in Glasgow, the capital of Scotland, said:
“People are talking about a crisis coming. There is already a crisis. I get very angry when people say we can’t help them. There shouldn’t be a child starving in England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland. It’s just totally unfair.”