Children in England’s state schools are in school just 190 days of the year.(1) They spend the other 175 days off school. For most children, their food provision during the school year is very different from their holiday food provision. This article will focus on what happens during the holidays and what is being done to support children.

‘Holiday hunger’ is defined as children and families not being able to afford adequate nutritious food during the school holidays. It often refers to children who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) during term time but it is not limited to this group.

In 2024/25, 25.7% of pupils (almost 2.2 million pupils) were eligible for FSM - a figure that has risen dramatically from 13.6% in 2017/18.(2) These children receive school meals in term time only, leading to a gap each holiday in free provision leaving parents and carers an increased cost in their food bill in the holidays, alongside the costs of keeping children entertained, which can result in holiday hunger.

Children on FSM live in households with an annual income of less than £7400 after tax but not including benefits, i.e. they are on very low incomes.(3) Some might say that the children should be fed by their parents during the holidays, because they will have saved money during the term. However, many families don’t have the resources to pay for enough nutritious food across the holidays, despite many working.

In their Broken Plate report, the Food Foundation state that “to afford the government recommended healthy diet, the most deprived fifth of the population would need to spend 45% of their disposable income on food, rising to 70% for those households with children”.(4) In January 2025, Home Start UK and Cadent published a survey of parents which found 48% of parents said they have skipped a meal to ensure their children are fed - 32% said they have done this multiple times.(5)

FSM are a lifeline. On average a primary school lunch costs £2.80 a day, that’s £504 per child per year based on 190 days in school.(6) But even with FSM, that leaves 175 days of the year for parents to find the money to buy lunch. This is where so called ‘holiday hunger’ arises.

Holiday hunger can lead ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health, social isolation and lack of access of out of school activities.(7) Nutritional impact can be nutrient deficiencies, over consumption of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (which are often cheaper), irregular meal patterns and reduced energy intake which can impact physical activity and interaction. All this can impact their return to school after the holidays including on reading scores.(8)

It was out of this gap in provision, and thanks to the hard work of countless campaigners, the Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) programme was created. This is a programme in England, funded by the UK government and delivered by local councils, which delivers enriching activities, childcare and meals to children eligible for FSM.(9)

Initially piloted from 2018, it was rolled out nationally on a three-year programme that then ended in April 2025 but was given an extension short term. The long-term future remains unclear, especially as from September 2026, all school-age children from families receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals, but the HAF programme will not currently be extended to cover the additional children who are eligible for FSM.(10)

One example of HAF which has been well evaluated is the provision in Northumberland where in 2023/24, 14520 young people accessed HAF across 178 camps with 27130 meals provided across the programme. Activities included castle trips, canoeing, swimming, and other sports.(11) The total cost of the programme was £1,029,030.

Alongside this programme, the team at the Healthy Living Lab at Northumbria University developed HAF Plus, a programme for teenagers which was cocreated and included the development of an app, used in Gateshead, to allow teenagers to choose their own food (which meet School Food Standards) from a variety of outlets and take part in a choice of activities.

An evaluation of this programme found: “Around 61% of young people noted that the food provided within the HAF Plus programme was nutritious, with nearly 60% of young people reporting that the food offered accommodated a range of different dietary/taste preferences. Over 75% of parents/carers reported that it was easy for their child to access the food on offer in HAF Plus, and nearly 69% of parents/carers rated the food as nutritious.” (12)

Councils can work independently or work with other councils to deliver HAF. One example of cross council working is in Greater Manchester. Following their 2024 HAF provision, they conducted a survey across their families which over 1500 parents and carers and 3000 children responded to.

Without HAF, 972 parents and carers said their child would be ‘watching TV’, 969 said they would be ‘bored at home’ and 918 would be ‘on their tablet or computer’. When asked about a positive difference, 275 said their child had better eating habits and 305 said their child was better at trying different foods at home.

When it came to the food provided, 81% of child respondents said the food was great or good, with 15% saying it was ok. Also, 47% of children said they ate more fruit and veg that day than usual, with 46% trying a new food that day.

The impact on families is wider than food. “For once we won’t be worrying about the children going back to school without the stigma of not doing anything because of costs and disabilities,” said a Stockport HAF parent.

“Without HAF I would not be able to work during the school holidays and this would leave me struggling for money to look after and feed my children", said a Salford HAF parent. "HAF means I can work whilst my children are having fun.”

As well as the formal, centralised HAF offer, business and the third sector have also stepped forward to support families. Many of the big chain supermarkets, fast food outlets and restaurants are offering free or very low cost meals (usually £1) to children over the holidays. Sometimes they have to be accompanied by a paying adult but not always. A full list can be found at Money Saving Central.(13)

Many local charities are offering support too. The advantage of this offer is that it is not solely for those on FSM, but one disadvantage is the nutritional value of these meals may not be up to School Food Standards. There is a lack of evaluation on these offers to be able to draw conclusions as to who is accessing them and what is provided.