Holiday Hunger

“This Assembly notes that over a quarter of London's children are living in poverty and are at risk of going hungry during the school holidays.  Holiday hunger leads to a loss in educational attainment of which many children never recover. Evidence from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger found that children were returning to school in a worse educational, health and developmental state than that in which they had left in the summer.

 This Assembly recognises the work of the Mayor’s Fund for London’s Kitchen Social project but eradicating holiday hunger for all Londoners cannot be tackled by charities and community groups alone – it needs a concerted effort from national Government. This is particularly important as food banks report experience a shortage of food in the summer months as the number of children relying on them increases. This Assembly calls on the Mayor to meet with the Minister of State for Children and Families to lobby for the provision of holiday clubs throughout London and to extend the Government pilots before 2019/20.”