Food Banks in Schools and Nurseries
The Education Sector’s Responses to the Cost-of-Living Crisis
By Alice Bradbury and Sharon Vince
Published
Jan 1, 2025Page count
176 pagesISBN
978-1447375524Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jan 1, 2025Page count
176 pagesISBN
978-1447375531Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jan 1, 2025Page count
176 pagesISBN
978-1447375548Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Policy Press
Food Banks in Schools and Nurseries
Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.
During the cost-of-living crisis, schools and nurseries have had to step beyond their educational purpose to offer free food to families through food banks. This book explores how these food banks operate, why families use them and how they affect children’s participation and wellbeing. Drawing on case studies of 12 primary schools and early years settings across England, it examines the impact on family wellbeing, home-school relationships and staff.
The authors argue that the situation will remain unsustainable if this welfare work continues to be unfunded and unrecognised, raising a significant question of who should and who can be responsible for alleviating child poverty.
Alice Bradbury is Professor of Sociology of Education and Co-Director at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy 0-11 Years (HHCP) at UCL Institute of Education, University College London.
Sharon Vince is a Research Assistant at UCL Institute of Education, University College London and Lecturer in Education Studies and Early Childhood Studies at the University of West London.
1. Introduction: Why Research Food Banks in Schools and Nurseries?
2. Context: How Have the Cost-of-Living Crisis, COVID and Austerity Affected Families and Schools?
3. How Do Food Banks in Schools Work, and Why Do Families Need Food Banks?
4. What Is the Impact of Food Banks on Children and Their Families?
5. Why Do Schools Offer Food Banks: What’s in It for Them?
6. Where Is Policy?
