How many households with children under five experience food poverty and what can be done about it?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, food poverty has moved up the policy agenda. Whilst much of the focus has been on free school meals, it is households with children not yet old enough to attend school that face higher rates of income poverty and food poverty. 

Food poverty is particularly damaging in early childhood which is a significant period of development that sets the foundations for outcomes in later life. Food poverty experienced by children under five is associated with worse physical and mental health, as well as behavioural and educational outcomes. 

We look at the latest available data on food poverty for households with children under five and how the risk of food poverty amongst these households varies according to other characteristics.

Measuring food poverty in households with children 

Each year the Government publishes official statistics on income poverty and living standards in the UK in the series Households Below Average Income. This is based on the national yearly Family Resources Survey. 

Published data tables distinguish between households with and without children, but they do not disaggregate further by children’s age. We analyse here the most recent data with a focus on households with pre-school children in England. 

Respondents were asked to answer, in the last 30 days, whether the following statements were ‘often true’, ‘sometimes true’ or ‘never true’: 

• We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.  
• The food that we bought just didn’t last, and we didn’t have money to get more.  
• We couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.  

If respondents answer ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ to any of these statements they are asked further questions:  

• Did you or other adults in your household ever skip or cut meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? Was that for three days or more?  
• Did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food?  
• Were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food?  
• Did you lose weight because there wasn’t enough money for food?  
• Did you or other adults in your household ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food? Was that for three days or more? 

We count a household as experiencing food poverty if they experienced any of the food related challenges described in the questions. A household is not experiencing food poverty if they report none of the challenges outlined above. 

Sample size: Households with youngest child <5 = 1087; Households with youngest child 5 to 17 = 1831; Households without children = 8531; Total = 11,449

The latest data show that whilst households with children of any age are more likely to experience food poverty compared to households without children, it is households with pre-school children that continue to face the highest rates of food poverty – nearly a quarter of households (24 per cent) with children under the age of five.  

Of course there are multiple risk factors for experiencing food poverty. As we examine below, when these different risk factors overlap, the rates of food poverty are even higher.

Sample size: <5, Non disabled = 798; 5+, Non disabled = 1248; <5, Disabled = 289; 5+ Disabled = 583; Total = 2,918 

The figure above focuses only on households with children and compares those where the children are under five to those with older children. When at least one working-aged adult in the household has a disability, the rates of food poverty are higher, and the gap between households with children under five and households with older children increases. More than a third (39 per cent) of households with children under five and an adult with a disability experience food poverty. The rate is higher compared to households with older children and an adult with a disability (31 per cent). 

Sample sizes: <5, Non single parent = 897; 5+, Non single parent = 1334; <5, Single parent = 190; 5+, Single parent = 497; Total = 2,918

Single parent households are particularly vulnerable to experiencing food poverty. It is deeply concerning that for single parent households with children under five the rate of food poverty increases even further to one in two. Again, the gap between households with pre-school children versus older children is greater (51 per cent compared to 39 per cent). 

More focus is needed on food poverty for under-fives 

The latest government data shows households with children under five continue to face a higher risk of experiencing food poverty, compared to households with older children. Amongst households with pre-school children, those that include at least one adult with a disability and single parent households face particularly high rates of food poverty, reaching one in two for single parent households with children under five. 

Despite higher rates of need at this young age, targeted support is limited. Whilst some nursery children are entitled to free meals, this is only the case for children attending standalone state-maintained nursery schools and school-based nurseries. The majority of children attend other types of settings. This means that children whose families have low incomes and would otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for free meals are excluded from accessing this benefit because of the type of setting they attend. 

Even for children within settings that provide free meals there is lack of awareness of the policy, not only amongst parents but also amongst local authorities and nurseries, meaning some children are still missing out. Eligibility criteria also restrict free meals to children attending settings before and after lunch, which can exclude children whose parents need to spread their early education entitlement across multiple days, or attend settings that are only open for half days.  

From September 2026 eligibility for free school meals will be extended to all children whose parents/carers are in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), and this will also be the case for free meals in nursery. Recent research estimates that once free meal eligibility criteria is changed to include all families receiving Universal Credit (UC), 290,000 children aged one to three whose parents receive UC will still miss out on free meals, due to these and other issues with the policy. 

In addition, in contrast to Universal Infant Free School Meals (available to all children in state schools from reception to year two), parents accessing their early education funding entitlements can face costly top up fees for meals and snacks.  

The Healthy Start Scheme was designed to help parents with children under four access healthy food and free vitamins. The rate paid has been uprated since April 2026; however, it has still not kept pace with food inflation.  Othe issues also remain, including lack of awareness of the scheme leading to low take-up. Furthermore, children aged four are not eligible, leaving a gap in support before children start school. Children from families with no recourse to public funds are also excluded from the eligibility criteria unless they are British citizens themselves, and the income threshold is low which means many families experiencing food poverty are not entitled.  

What can be done to reduce food poverty for under-fives? 

Overall, not enough is being done to reduce food poverty for households with the youngest children. In line with our previous research, we recommend the Government takes the following actions to reduce food poverty for children under five: 

First and foremost, review the range of policies which together should operate as a ‘safety net’ to ensure all families have adequate incomes to afford essentials, including nutritious food. The publication of the Child Poverty Strategy was a welcome development. The abolition of the Two Child Limit is a significant step in the right direction. However, the fact that the Benefit Cap remains in place means larger families will still not necessarily be able to access adequate resources to meet their children’s needs. As is clear from the findings above, particular consideration should be given to disability-related benefits and benefits available to single parent households. 

Make free meals available for all pre-school children attending registered early years settings, expanding the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) already in place for children from reception to year two, to include younger children at a critical stage of development. The evidence shows UIFSM have had positive impacts on educational outcomes, narrowed inequalities in absence rates, and reduced household expenditure.  As a first step, making free meals accessible to all pre-school children whose parents are in receipt of Universal Credit (regardless of the type of setting they attend) would begin to bridge the gap in free food provision between pre-school children and children attending school. 

Continue to improve the Healthy Start Scheme (HSS). There are a number of policy asks from the Healthy Start Working Group. In particular, we would encourage the Government to increase the remit of the scheme to include children aged four and non British children from households with no recourse to public funds, and to increase the income threshold to allow for more children experiencing food poverty to be eligible for the scheme. Multiple studies have found the HSS to benefit low-income families with young children, increasing the quantity of fruit and vegetables purchased and contributing to the establishment of healthy eating patterns for young children. Access to nutritious food in early childhood is vital for children’s healthy growth and development, and influences health trajectories across the life course.