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Aldi survey: Half of parents skip meals to feed their children

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Supermarket chain Aldi has today launched its Adult Breakfast Club, offering the most important meal of the day to hard-pressed parents.

Thoughts for food: Aldi’s survey has discovered dire poverty among low-income families

Aldi, with the help of its charity partner Neighbourly, is donating 10 tonnes of healthy breakfast cereals and 5,000 gallons of milk or milk alternatives to foodbanks and schools across the country, after its research discovered that in London and the south-east almost half of parents from lower-income families are skipping meals to ensure their children have enough to eat.

“To help ensure parents are getting the food they need, from today they will be able to access breakfast free of charge thanks to Aldi’s newly announced Adults’ Breakfast Club,” the company announced.

“Ahead of the school Easter holidays, when parents are under increased pressure to feed the entire family, the supermarket chain will also be doubling down on its existing donations to local schools during term time, as almost one-third of parents surveyed said that they rely on their children being provided breakfast by their school.”

The research from Aldi reveals that 47per cent of parents are now experiencing more financial pressure to feed the family compared to six months ago, with almost 2 in 3 admitting they are likely to go hungry so their little ones don’t have to.

This has led to one-third of parents buying less food now than they were six months ago, with some of the biggest cutbacks including key breakfast items such as butter, milk and cereal.

Aldi’s initiative comes as more than one-third – 37per cent – of parents cannot afford a full shop to feed themselves and their family and are choosing to either skip meals entirely, give children half of their meal, or make larger portions for their children than themselves. Yet more than a quarter (27per cent) of these children often complain of still being hungry after mealtimes, with no additional food to go around.

There is already an estimated 2.1million adults across the country using foodbanks, with 16per cent of those surveyed for the Aldi research saying that they will have to start using foodbanks themselves within the next six months.

Vital provisions: estimates suggest more than 2m people now use foodbanks in Britain

This is supported by findings from Neighbourly, who surveyed a selection of charity professionals that work with some of the most vulnerable families in society on a daily basis.

Aldi’s Liz Fox said, “We believe that having access to healthy food should be a right, not a privilege. The thought that parents are having to skip meals to ensure their children can eat is terrible.

“Our partnership with Neighbourly to donate surplus food from our stores helps to support the communities where we operate, but we want to be able to help parents too. We hope the Adult Breakfast Club will help provide everyday breakfast essentials to parents who otherwise would be going without.”

And the CEO of Neighbourly, Steve Butterworth, said: “We are now seeing the real-world effects of the cost-of-living crisis, and this is what it looks like. Parents sitting with empty, or half-empty, plates at mealtimes to ensure their children have enough food.”

Butterworth called Aldi’s Adult Breakfast Club “a brilliant initiative”, saying, “We hope it will make a tangible difference in our community.”

Aldi is also encouraging its customers to add to the company’s donation by heading to www.aldi.co.uk/neighbourly – just £5 will provide 30 breakfast meals.


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