10th February 2021
INTO calls on members to participate in the important consultation process arising from Karen Mullan, MLA’s private members bill on holiday hunger. See below:
Ms Mullan said, “I am bringing forward a private members bill to tackle holiday hunger, I have issued a survey as part of the consultation process which closes on Friday 19th February, I would welcome your support, if you could complete the survey via the link below and pass onto your colleagues:
The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YBGK2F5
Childhood hunger is a reality here. During school holidays up to 100,000 children are missing out on their free school meal. That is almost 1 in 4 school children.
In the north, a child is entitled to free school meals if their parents earn less than £14,000 a year or receive certain social security payments.
Families who are already struggling financially, are impacted by the additional cost of providing extra food for their children while at home during the school holidays.
This year the Trust reported a soaring 81% increase for emergency food parcels from food banks in its network during the last two weeks of March 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.
The links between educational underachievement and deprivation are well known and the evidence suggests that children returning to school can often be weeks or months intellectually behind classmates who have access to a more wholesome diet during the holidays.
The onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency provided a unique opportunity to do things differently this year.
Direct payments have been made regularly to the families of over 100,000 children. Thousands of food parcels and cheques have been provided for those harder to reach families. The Executive found the mechanisms and the means to address holiday hunger this year and it is welcome that it has committed to addressing the issue of holiday hunger until Easter 2022.
What is now needed is legislation to make a long-term commitment so that children who need free school meals, and their families, are supported to ensure children get the nutrition that they need to help them fulfil their potential beyond Easter 2022.”