Holiday hunger in the UK: local responses to childhood food insecurity

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- 1 Holiday hunger in the UK -- 2 Neoliberalism, food insecurity and holiday hunger -- 3 Coping with the impacts of holiday hunger -- 4 The anatomy of holiday programmes (2014-2019) -- 5 Benefits of UK holiday club programmes -- 6 Challenges and limitations of UK holiday programmes and individual clubs -- 7 Holiday hunger in the Covid-19 global pandemic -- 8 Conclusion -- Index.

"This is the first book focusing on the phenomenon often referred to as "holiday hunger" in the United Kingdom. The book begins by outlining the history and scope of holiday hunger - the condition that occurs when a child's household is, or will become, food insecure during the summer holidays. The decline of the UK welfare state and the rise of neoliberalism has created a situation where up to three million children in the UK face food insecurity during the summer months when there are extra financial pressures on the working poor and when free school meals are not available. This book details the level of childhood and household food insecurity in the UK and describes one of the main responses to holiday hunger - holiday clubs. These clubs are locally organized and funded and provide a place for children to go to eat nutritious meals for free during the school holidays. Highlighting the benefits of holiday clubs that often extend beyond food provision, this book also discusses the challenges that they face now and in the future. The book concludes with recommendations for food insecurity policy and the role of government in fighting holiday hunger. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food and nutrition security, social policy and public health"--