Supermarkets are facing fresh accusations of not doing enough to tackle child hunger, after figures showed a landmark government scheme was failing to reach millions of families.
New NHS figures show uptake of the Healthy Start scheme is currently at 64% of those eligible, falling well short of the target set for March 2023 of 75%.
Data from the Food Foundation showed 27% of UK households with children under the age of four experienced food insecurity in January this year.
The Foundation has attacked retailers for not doing enough to support the scheme, which
The Foundation said only two retailers – Iceland and Sainsbury’s – had actively marketed the scheme.
It has also called on the government to commit £5m of funding for a comprehensive communications campaign to improve awareness and uptake of Healthy Start, as recommended in Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy.
“Debilitating food price rises are making it incredibly challenging for low-income young families to afford a healthy diet,” said the Food Foundation’s executive director Anna Taylor.
“This is extremely concerning given how important good nutrition is for young children’s growth and development. Healthy Start is a highly targeted scheme that should be helping families most in need, but pitifully low uptake levels mean there are families all over the country who are missing out on this statutory scheme.
“Much more needs to be done by government to make sure uptake improves. Implementing the recommendations set out in the National Food Strategy is a good place to start.”
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