A charity tackling child hunger and malnutrition has warned things are about to get much worse as they officially open their Watford kitchen.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been providing midday meals to prevent child nutrition in India for more than 20 years and has now held an opening event for a Watford Kitchen.
Despite demand for as many as 3,500 meals a day in the Watford area, the charity warns the full extent of the crisis could be masked.
Warm summer weather means families are not forced to choose between heating and food costs and free school meals are available to many - though not all - during term time.
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Akshaya Patra UK's director of operations Erika Loch organised the opening. She said: "People might have this idea that hunger is a third world problem and by our measures it's absolutely not.
“It hasn’t even fully hit yet but has been creeping up for a while, families are going to have to choose, right?
“Choose between a meal, or hot water, or heating.
“This is what we are hearing from the ground.”
Testimonials from Greater London schools showed just how necessary outside support is for struggling families.
Teaching assistant Sandra Whitfield said: “It is very important, I would say for some of the children it is the only hot meal they get, it's invaluable really.”
Another head teacher described how many children come from deprived families but still lack recourse to public funds to get meals.
With rising food prices the charity, which has recieved support from Marcus Rashford, has been campaigning to raise the level of income at which children receive free school meals as prices rise.
Erica added: “We are trying to lend our voices to getting this changed.
“You shouldn’t need a family to be in abject poverty to help make sure a child can eat.
“The school caterers are a business, and they need to make profit, so now they say there is no choice but to raise their prices.
“We are here showing that doesn’t fit and it is possible to provide high quality, high nutrition meals for much less than the commercial sector.”
The charity opened in Watford during lockdown but held its opening event last Friday due to restrictions lifting.
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