Alison* had been earning enough to cover her costs and feed her children, but her income dropped when she started maternity leave. Her relationship broke up, so there was no other earner in the home, and she was in real difficulties as the school summer holidays approached. Her children were in Years 1 and 2, so were receiving free school meals, but with them off school, Alison was going to need to provide extra meals and childcare for her children. She simply didn’t have the money. The children’s school referred the family to our Holiday Hunger scheme, which provided six weeks of normal family food shop provisions, supplemented with lunchtime essentials, to keep the children fed over the summer.

*This is a true story, but names have been changed for confidentiality and photos posed by models.