As the school summer holidays stretch across the United Kingdom, parents are grappling with a challenge that grows more daunting each year: how to keep children fed, entertained, and healthy without breaking the bank. With food prices up by 4.5% compared to June 2024 and further increases looming, the cost of six weeks’ worth of lunches and snacks at home is weighing heavily on families already stretched thin by rising rents, mortgages, and childcare costs. The struggle is not just about food, though—that’s only part of a much bigger story unfolding in kitchens, pantries, and even on sandy beaches from Manchester to East Yorkshire.
For many, meticulous planning and a dash of creativity are now essential survival tools. Take Evelyn, a mother of two from Gorton in East Manchester, who has turned bargain hunting into an art form. “I’m not afraid of a yellow sticker, especially for my meat, that’s what your freezer is for,” she told BBC News. As her 12-year-old daughter, who usually receives free school meals during term time, and her 19-year-old son, home from university, increase the household’s food demands, Evelyn has been preparing for months. Reduced-price items are snapped up and frozen for later, ensuring there’s always something to eat when the “snacking is immense.” She’s also found inventive ways to avoid waste—turning fruit about to spoil into frozen berry yoghurt snacks, for example.
Support from local government has helped ease the burden for Evelyn. She receives a £50 voucher from Manchester City Council, distributed through her daughter’s school, which she can use at any supermarket. “They are a big help,” she said, especially since this flexibility allows her to shop around for the best deals. However, for families like hers, even these measures can feel like a drop in the ocean. Despite a 1.5% increase in average wages between April and June 2025, and benefit payments rising in April, the combined pressures of inflation and mounting living costs mean many feel no better off.
Laura, another Manchester mother currently out of work, faces the holidays with a mixture of determination and anxiety. Her three children, whom she affectionately calls “eating machines,” receive free school meals during term time. But when school’s out, the safety net disappears. “Sometimes we’ve got plenty of food, and sometimes we don’t, so you have to get creative,” she explained to BBC News. Laura’s strategy involves portioning out food into daily bags to stretch supplies across the week and stashing snacks in high cupboards—out of reach from hungry hands. “It can be really, really hard when you’re having to scrimp and save and spend so much time thinking and organising and figuring out where the food is going to come from.”
For Laura, the Bread And Butter Thing, a local pantry in South Manchester, has been “a lifeline.” For £8.50, she receives three bags of surplus food from supermarkets, farms, and wholesalers. The selection is unpredictable, but there’s always fresh fruit and vegetables. “It means I can put something on the table that they are going to want to eat and that’s financially viable,” she said. The scale of need is staggering: according to BBC News, Fareshare—the UK’s largest food distribution network—has supplied ingredients for 400,000 more meals this summer compared to last year.
Colette, a mother of two in South Manchester, juggles three part-time jobs as a music teacher and carer. She’s no stranger to stretching a budget. “We have to be clever and careful about how we use the food,” she said. “Which is no different to normal, it’s just there’s more meals to make out of what we’ve got.” Her golden rule is simple: “We don’t waste anything. Even crusts.” She’s developed a system for organising the fridge by use-by dates, putting items that need eating first at the front—because, as she points out, “the kids are not going to rummage around and look at use by dates.” Batch cooking helps too; her 14-year-old son Henry recently helped prepare a bolognese, leaving an extra portion in the freezer for another day.
Government support schemes offer some relief, but the picture is patchy. In England and Wales, low-income families can access free food at holiday schemes through the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, and some councils provide food vouchers via the Household Support Fund. Scotland has taken a similar approach, with some councils offering extra free school meal payments during the holidays. But in Northern Ireland, the situation is bleaker: “holiday hunger” payments were stopped in 2023, leaving many families without any extra support this summer, according to BBC News.
Charities and community organisations are stepping in to fill the gaps. Food banks provide emergency help, while food pantries and clubs offer affordable options for those on the edge. Members pay a small fee and receive a set number of bags of food each week. Technology is also lending a hand—apps like Olio and TooGoodToGo connect families with cheap or free food from cafes and shops that would otherwise go to waste, reducing both hunger and landfill.
Yet, the impact of poverty goes far beyond the kitchen table. On August 15, 2025, a striking 50-square-metre sand portrait appeared on Bridlington beach in East Yorkshire. Created by Sand In Your Eye and youth ambassadors from Barnardo’s, the artwork depicted a child with the words “Wish I was there” etched below. According to research from Barnardo’s, more than seven million children in the UK live in families who have had to cut spending on summer activities. The charity warns that missing out on these experiences can have lasting effects on mental health.
Lynn Perry, Barnardo’s chief executive, captured the heartbreak faced by many: “Parents desperately want to give their children special summer memories but the reality is many are just trying to survive.” Ruth Welford, assistant director of children’s services at Barnardo’s, shared stories that “stopped me in my tracks”—from a pregnant woman forced to choose between paying bills and eating, to a father, recently unemployed and in debt, unable to feed his children. “It is devastating that families in the UK are living in such awful circumstances,” she said. “Many families are struggling to afford to feed their children, so unfortunately trips to the beach or days out at the zoo don’t even factor into their plans. Millions of children are in danger of growing up without any fun summer memories.”
The sand portrait, unveiled on a Friday afternoon, was washed away by the high tide that evening—a fleeting reminder of the joys and opportunities that so many children miss. The image, and the stories behind it, underscore a sobering truth: for millions of families, the summer holidays are less about carefree fun and more about making do, planning meticulously, and hoping for a little help where they can find it.
As the tide of summer rises and falls, so too does the resilience of families across the UK—finding ways to create memories, even in the face of mounting hardship.
