Early Years Alliance comments on EPI report urging government to tackle food poverty in the early years

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:

"The Education Policy Institute is absolutely right to call on the government to tackle food poverty in the early years. 

"Not only are children under five more likely to suffer from food poverty, but as the EPI's report shows, experiencing this in the early years is set to be particularly damaging to a child's health and long-term development. 

"With so many families struggling with rising costs, we know that for some children, the food they receive when at nursery, pre-school or a childminding setting might well be their only opportunity for a healthy meal. Despite this, however,  early entitlement funding not only continues to fall below delivery costs but also cannot be used to cover the cost of meals and snacks in early years settings, creating a significant barrier to addressing food poverty as many providers are unable to provide food without implementing additional fees.  

"So, as the government explores how to tackle poverty, we fully agree that addressing food poverty in the early years must be central to this, and urge ministers to commit to providing additional early years funding to cover the cost of food provision in settings as part of this important mission."