ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Children are arriving at school hungry because their parents cannot afford food for them, a study of London families has revealed.

Three girls aged 11 and under told researchers they were so hungry they “felt sick” and their “bellies hurt”, with one saying she just wanted to sleep to forget about the pangs.

The study by Kids Company and the University of Reading surveyed 58 families from Lambeth who use the charity’s Street Level Centre in Camberwell, which provides 3,000 meals every week.

Nearly a third of Lambeth children live in poverty, according to the study funded by Ella's Kitchen.

Researchers found that the majority of children relied on Kids Company for their daily main meal, and also school breakfast clubs, food vouchers and food parcels.

About half of children said they had lost weight because there was not enough food at home and that missing meals was “common”. A five-year-old boy said he went to bed hungry “nearly every night”.

Most parents interviewed said they cooked smaller meals to eke out ingredients or they went without food so their children could eat.

Childhood hunger was particularly bad for those living in temporary accommodation.

A 10-year-old girl said the shared kitchen in her B&B was so dirty that her mother relied on a slow cooker in their single room to make meals.

The study found most parents said they were unable to “afford balanced, healthy meals”. Asked to draw a picture of his evening meal, a nine-year-old boy depicted a plate of takeaway chicken, chips and ketchup.

Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of Kids Company, said: “I have seen a lack of food drive a child into prostitution. Children left without food is a crime, whichever way you look at it. Food poverty is an assault on their development and dignity and there is absolutely no excuse for it.”

Ursula Johnston, of Jubilee School in Lambeth, said as winter approached, London’s “working poor” would be among the worst hit as they struggle with “demands of what bills to prioritise”.

Kids Company are asking for £2 donations towards their Plate Pledge to fight childhood hunger.

For more information, visit www.kidscoplatepledge.org

A free exhibition called Hungry Childhoods, featuring children's artwork from the study, is being displayed at the Kids Company Gallery in Blackfriars Road until Saturday.