Ensuring adequate nutrition for children in January: addressing poverty and food insecurity
January is a demanding month for many families. The festive season’s end, combined with winter pressures and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, often intensifies the challenges low-income households face in providing consistent, nutrient-rich diets for children. For paediatric dietitians, recognising the multifaceted causes of food insecurity and implementing effective strategies is critical to supporting children’s growth, development and long-term health.
What is food insecurity?
Food insecurity occurs when families lack reliable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, which is required for an active, healthy life. It differs from transient hunger, which denotes systemic barriers to diet adequacy over time, not just momentary meal skipping.(1)
In the UK, recent data show that food insecurity remains high in households with children. In January 2024, an estimated 15% of UK households, equivalent to millions of adults and around three million children, reported experiencing food insecurity due to unaffordable grocery costs.(2) The Food Foundation reported that in the same period, approximately 20% of households with children experienced food insecurity, highlighting the persistent nature of this problem.(3)
How poverty impacts nutritional outcomes
Poverty is a powerful predictor of poor nutrition in childhood. Low household income limits a family's ability to purchase nutrient-dense foods, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and dairy. Instead, cheaper, energy-dense, nutrient-poor options frequently become default staples.(4)
Research indicates that children from food-insecure families are more likely to have lower intakes of vegetables and higher intakes of processed foods. These dietary choices then lead to an increased risk of micronutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, food insecurity and poverty are linked to worse mental health outcomes, including anxiety and behavioural issues, which can further complicate dietary management and family well-being.(5)
Health and developmental consequences of poor nutritional choices due to poverty
Insufficient nutrition affects children at multiple levels. According to a review in Paediatrics, children in food-insecure households have higher rates of iron deficiency, poorer overall health outcomes and more developmental and behavioural problems than their food-secure peers.(6)
Early childhood is a critical period for brain development; inadequate nutrient intake during this window can result in lifelong consequences for cognitive function, school performance and adult productivity. These effects also contribute to a cycle of poverty, as poor health and learning difficulties undermine future socioeconomic opportunities.(7)
Beyond physical health, food insecurity contributes to psychological stress in families. Parents often sacrifice their own food intake to protect children, but chronic anxiety about food access can strain mental well-being and parenting capacity.
Unique challenges in January
January presents unique challenges that compound poverty and nutrition issues due to a variety of reasons, which can include the following:
Winter heating and utility costs peak, which can lead to a reduction in disposable income for food or potentially choosing between heating the home or having a meal.
Post-holiday budget deficits can reduce a family’s ability to purchase healthy foods.
Seasonal price inflation may make fresh produce less affordable.
There is often a longer gap between paydays, which means families may prioritise cost and quantity over diet quality.
Food insecurity spikes in winter months, with households reporting reduced fruit and vegetable purchases as costs escalate and finances need to be spread across other household utilities.(2)
How can paediatric dietitians help?
Dietitians play a key role in mitigating the effects of poverty on child nutrition. Below are evidence-informed strategies to promote adequate nutrition for children, particularly during January.
Promoting school and community feeding programmes
Expanding food provision in schools beyond lunch, such as breakfast clubs, after-school meals and holiday food schemes, can ensure children receive at least one balanced meal daily. Research highlights that direct feeding programmes can be effective in improving dietary intake among children in low-income families.(4)
Dietitians can support these efforts by advising on nutrient standards for meals and advocating for increased funding and universal eligibility.
Supporting food subsidies and social protection
Advocacy for strengthened social safety nets, such as increasing income support, expanding free school meal entitlements and advocating for food vouchers, can improve families’ ability to afford nutritious diets. Dietitians should engage and work alongside policymakers and stakeholders to ensure food policies are beneficial to all.
Education around nutrition
Nutritional advice must be tailored to the family’s needs, realistic and sensitive to financial constraints. As dietitians, we should ensure the advice given is achievable to prevent a feeling of failure. We should be:
promoting affordable nutrient-dense options (eg, beans, lentils, canned fish, fortified cereals and use of frozen fruit/vegetables);
encouraging cooking methods that preserve nutrients and extend food budgets – and ensuring that there is adequate equipment and heat resources available for meals to be cooked;
providing meal planning and budgeting tips that are tailored to local food prices and available resources.
Collaborative workshops with parents, community groups and local supermarkets can build practical skills and resilience.
We can work towards developing partnerships with food banks, community kitchens and charities, which can bridge short-term gaps in nutrition. However, research warns that emergency food provision often lacks sufficient nutritional quality.(5) Dietitians should work with these organisations to improve the nutrient density of distributed food and ensure families have an understanding of how to cook basic meals from basic foods.
There should be established routine screening for food insecurity and nutritional risk, which can be identified by all healthcare professionals involved in a young person’s journey; for example, health visitor appointments, immunisation clinics, and dietetic consultations all help identify families at risk. Tools such as brief food security questionnaires can prompt early referral to support services and targeted dietetic interventions.
Conclusion
Ensuring adequate nutrition for children all year round is both a clinical and society-based issue. This can become more challenging in January due to the availability of foods, increased fuel bills and the recent holiday period, which may have resulted in overspending. As paediatric dietitians, it is imperative to advocate, innovate and collaborate to ensure every child has access to a nutritional meal plan that supports optimal growth and development.
Addressing the nutrition needs of children in low-income families requires more than individual counselling. Awareness of policy change, community engagement, culturally contextualised education and systemic commitment to equity are key to fully completing an assessment. Only through a blend of clinical expertise and social advocacy can we begin to dismantle the barriers that leave too many children without the nutrition they need to thrive.
Hazel is a Paediatric Dietitian with 19 years of experience. Her previous research has been around inflammatory bowel disease. She currently covers a wide area of specialities.
Hazel Duncan, RD
References
Save the Children UK (2025). Food Insecurity: Causes, Impact & Solutions. Available at: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/what-we-do/hunger/food-insecurity
Guardian (2024). Health emergency: 15% of UK households went hungry last month, data shows. The Guardian, 27 February. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/27/health-emergency-15-of-uk-households-went-hungry-last-month-data-shows
Food Foundation (2025). Health and food experts warning amid significant decline in children’s health. Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/press-release/health-and-food-experts-warning-amid-significant-decline-childrens-health](https://foodfoundation.org.uk/press-release/health-and-food-experts-warning-amid-significant-decline-childrens-health
Cambridge Core (2007). Childhood nutrition and poverty. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 66(1), pp. 35–45
Cambridge Core (2024). Food insecurity in children and young people in Scotland. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
American Academy of Paediatrics (2015). Promoting Food Security for All Children, Paediatrics, 136(5), e1431–e1431. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-3301.
UNICEF (2025). Child Food Poverty: Nutrition deprivation in early childhood. Available at: https://data.unicef.org/resources/child-food-poverty-report-2024/](https://data.unicef.org/resources/child-food-poverty-report-2024/
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