A lack of food shops locally, poor choice of products and a perception of hostility towards young people in the community are other barriers to young people’s access to healthy food, a new report finds.
One in four secondary and college aged students say they struggle to access healthy food in their community.
More than one in three say they live in homes that are struggling, or have struggled, to pay for food.
The findings have emerged in a report by Barnardo’s and the Co-op.
Among young people involved in producing the report was 21-year-old Kyson, who is homeless.
“I’ve struggled with access to food since becoming homeless aged 18, but to hear people as young as 13 talking about it was eye-opening,” said Kyson.
Young people aged 16 to 24 who have moved out of home and have their own family are particularly at risk.
Two in 10 younger households are classed as being ‘food insecure’, double the proportion for all ages.
Almost four in five members of the Co-op aged between 16 and 25 say they have skipped a meal for financial reasons.
“As a young adult with a child, I’ve had to skip so many meals just to make sure my daughter is fed,” one young parent told researchers.
Barnardos and the Co-op are calling for retail discount schemes to be extended to young people, setting up local food partnerships and to tackle holiday hunger when free meals through the government’s holiday and food programme funding ends in March next year.
“Too many young people are simply not getting the food they need when they need it,” said Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry.
“We know change is needed so that families can afford to put healthy meals on the table, and to make sure children are eating well at school, but on top of this, our new research finds that much more needs to be done in communities.”
She added: “We are calling on policymakers, local authorities, and businesses to take urgent action to ensure that no child goes hungry, and everyone gets the nutrients they need to grow and thrive.”
