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Survey reveals some British pupils have been eating rubbers for not affording lunch

A new survey on food poverty in British schools due to be published next month by Chefs in Schools has brought into the open that many schools in England are already seeing a "heartbreaking" increase in hungry children, even before winter and big energy bills force more families to choose between switching on the heating and buying food. Some British pupils are so hungry that they are eating rubbers or hiding in the playground by pretending to have their meals because they cannot afford lunch.

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The group is hearing daily from local people who have never been unable to afford food before. "They aren't choosing whether to heat or eat: they can't afford to do either," she said. Craig Johnson, founder of Launch Foods, a charity in Glasgow providing free lunches for 300 schoolchildren a day, said: "People are talking about an approaching crisis. There is already a crisis."