One in eight colleges has a food bank on campus in a bid to tackle hunger among students, Tes can reveal. According to a survey of college leaders by the Association of Colleges (AoC) in partnership with Tes, 13 per cent operate a food bank, and 86 per cent offer other kinds of support to students who cannot feed themselves.

Some colleges provide free toast and cereal at breakfast time; others offer as much as £4 a day to spend in the canteen, vouchers for the local food bank or even a trip to the supermarket with a member of staff.

Nationally, more than one in 20 people aged 15 and over struggle to get enough to eat. According to FareShare, a charity that redistributes surplus food, the situation is getting worse. “In 12 months, we’ve seen the number of groups we work with increase by 44 per cent, and we supplied enough food to make up nearly 29 million meals in a year,” said chief executive Lindsay Boswell.

Students passing out

Kirsti Lord, deputy chief executive at the AoC, said colleges were “a microcosm of wider society and, sadly, the increasing need for food banks in society is reflected in the increasing need for food banks in colleges”.

She added: “In terms of how hunger impacts on education, this can be significant – absence and lateness due to tiredness or weakness, a lack of concentration in class. I can remember one or two occasions of students passing out at college.”

Ms Lord said she had also frequently seen adult students not eating for days to ensure their children have sufficient food.

The impact of the support colleges provide goes beyond addressing learners’ physical needs. “It’s about [students] having the confidence that you can continue because you don’t have to worry where your next meal is coming from or how you’re going to feed your children tonight,” Ms Lord said. “And it is about feeling part of a community that is looking out for you.”

'Life is hard enough'

Lancaster and Morecambe College has a food bank on site. Maggie Dodd, director for personal development and welfare, said the college had handed out “overnight bags” of food and essentials, vouchers to the local food bank and clothes to around 20 learners so far this academic year.

“What we [have] found in the last couple of years is that we have young people in crisis,” said Ms Dodd. So as well as giving out “overnight bags”, the college has also started a clothes bank for young people who may, for example, have interviews to go to – or who find themselves homeless.

The bags contain “kettle food”, such as instant noodles, and staples to allow students and their families to cook a meal, Ms Dodd said, as well as toiletries and sanitary products.

'Whole-college effort'

West Suffolk College has been operating a “food cupboard” for about 10 years. Student welfare officer Sarah-Louise Neesam said: “We have a holistic approach to our students; we know they learn best when all their needs are met. It is a whole-college effort and lots of staff have been involved to make that work.”

Emily Chapman, vice president for further education at the NUS students’ union, said there was “definitely a problem with poverty in the education sector, particularly in FE”.

This, she said, was exacerbated by the lack of maintenance support available for FE students. “They literally have to choose between getting to college and eating,” Ms Chapman said. “That is how bad it is. Those are the choices FE students have to make.”

This is an edited version of an article in the 20 July edition of Tes. Subscribers can read the full story here. To subscribe, click here. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here. Tes magazine is available at all good newsagents