Families 'struggling to feed children in holidays'

Mother of four, Chrissie Read, said she "quite often" dreads the school holidays

Families are struggling to put food on the table during the school holidays, charities have warned.

A community kitchen and foodbank in Okehampton in Devon said a dramatic rise in families needing affordable food had forced it to double the amount of supplies it bought in each week.

Newquay Foodbank said the summer holidays were "a real pinch point" and one in four young children were at risk of needing a food bank.

Its director Zoe Nixon described it as a "devastating reality for too many families", adding: "Parents should be able to enjoy this time with their children, not lie awake wondering how to put food on the table."

Newquay Foodbank said the summer holidays were "a real pinch point" for families

Last year, the Trussell Trust said its south-west community food banks distributed 6,484 food parcels in Plymouth.

Across the UK, 63% of food parcels were delivered to households with children of all ages up to 16, it added.

Rebecca Green, co-founder of the Okehampton Community Kitchen and Foodbank, said it was seeing "a massive increase in people not in emergency food need, but in affordable food need".

Many could not afford "to put a decent meal, even once a day, on the table", she said.

"Those people are anxious, they're worried, they're scared. They're also proud, they don't want to come to a food bank," Ms Green added.

As well as the food bank, the Okehampton community hub runs a food club which offers affordable boxes for £2.50.

Chrissie Read, who has four children between the ages of 10 and 17, said she "quite often dreads the summer holidays" and relied on the charity's boxes to manage.

"With having the six weeks off over the summer, finances are stretched," she said.

"We haven't got the money to go out and have takeaways or have a day out, so having these £2.50 boxes are really helpful to just make those ends meet over those six weeks."