CYP Now - Fears over food insecurity trigger calls to boost nutrition scheme

Campaigners have urged the government’s Child Poverty Taskforce to take urgent action to prevent early childhood malnutrition, amid high levels of food insecurity among families with children.

Food insecurity is higher among families with children. Picture: AdobeStock

Some 80 signatories are behind a letter co-ordinated by The Food Foundation charity calling on the taskforce to use the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy to strengthen the NHS Healthy Start scheme - a “critical nutritional safety net for many pregnant people and families with children under four years old who are living in poverty” - claiming it has been “much neglected” and is “not fit for purpose”.

The letter, addressed to taskforce chair, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, criticises the scheme’s “restrictive eligibility criteria” that means “many families experiencing poverty cannot benefit”, in contrast with the Scottish version that is available to all families on Universal Credit who are within the required age bracket.

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