The findings, which are based on a survey that received 500 responses, along with two focus groups, reveal:
- For 94 per cent of providers the food they provide to children attending their settings has been impacted by rising food costs, with more than a third stating this is having a ‘significant impact’.
- More than six in ten (62 per cent) said they have been forced to use cheaper ingredients when providing meals.
- One in six have reduced their portion sizes.
- Almost one in ten (9 per cent) have used food redistribution charities, such as FareShare, to provide food in settings.
Despite these actions, over half of respondents (56 per cent) said they have no option but to pass costs onto parents, with nearly one in three (28 per cent) having to charge families more for meals and snacks, and the same proportion forced to charge families more in fees.
One respondent said, ‘We've recently had to introduce a snack fee to help cover increasing costs, we didn't like doing so but it was unavoidable. It has helped us buy and serve a wider range of snack and breakfast food, review our provision overall and also to provide a healthy lunch once a half term as an example to the children and parents/carers.’
It comes at a time when settings are reporting growing signs of food insecurity among families. Just under half (49 per cent) said children and/or families at their settings were showing signs of food insecurity, with respondents noting an increase in the number of children arriving at their setting hungry.
The EYA and LEYF are now calling on the Government to provide additional early years funding specifically to cover the cost of meals and snacks in settings to ensure all children have access to healthy and nutritious food.
They said that the Government’s decision to ‘strip the cost of meals and snacks out of early years funding has placed yet another burden onto parents and providers’.
Current statutory guidance for local authorities on the provision of childcare and early education states that Government funding is ‘not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.’
Chief executive of the EYA Neil Leitch called the findings ‘incredibly concerning’.
‘With so many families struggling during the cost-of-living crisis, we know that for some children, the food they receive at their nursery, pre-school or childminder might well be their only opportunity for a healthy meal. The fact, therefore, that more and more providers are themselves struggling to provide nutritious food – or to do so at an affordable price – is a real cause for concern.
‘Good nutrition is a fundamental part of education. We all rightly argue that no child should be expected to attend school hungry – so why should it be any different for children in the early years?’
June O’Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), added, ‘Early Years providers know that hungry children simply can’t learn which is why they are desperate to continue serving food to them. But as the gulf grows between stagnant Government funding and increasing costs, many providers are left with little choice but to push these costs onto parents – which of course affects families who are already struggling the most.
‘All children attending LEYF nurseries are lucky enough to benefit from healthy meals at no additional cost – cooked by our specially trained chefs, but it shouldn’t be down to luck whether they get the food they need to grow, learn and thrive. Without doubt, the UK Government must now recognise the crucial importance of food in education, and adequately support providers to deliver it now.’
