A joint investigation by The Independent and Evening Standard has revealed an escalating hunger crisis among children in families who live in poverty but are not eligible for free school meals.
Headteachers and youth workers say this is leading to increasingly desperate behaviour from some children and mothers who are struggling with the rising cost of living, including distressed pupils stealing food from local supermarkets and the school canteen to stave off hunger and mothers resorting to shoplifting, risking a criminal record, to feed their families.
