Children sent to school with biscuits and cold chips for lunch

Children are being sent to school with cold chips or a packet of biscuits in their lunchbox as families face a squeeze on their budgets, according to a new survey.

The poll, conducted by the Children's Food Trust, also found that in the last two years, two-thirds (66.3 per cent) of those questioned said they had given a child food because they were worried they were not getting enough to eat.

One reason behind the food children are taking with them is that the value of money has plummeted by two-thirds over the last 30 years as the cost of everyday goods rockets.

A three-fold increase in retail prices means that someone would need £299 today to have the equivalent purchasing power of £100 back in 1982, according to new figures.

The price of a loaf of bread has increased from 37p in 1982 to £1.24 by 2012, while a pint of milk has more than doubled in price from 20p three decades ago to 46p.

More than two thirds of adults working with children (68.1 per cent) say that in the last two years, they have seen an increase in the proportion of families who are struggling to feed their youngsters.

And of those working in schools, almost half (47.5 per cent) say they have seen a change in the food in children's lunchboxes as household budgets get tighter.

There were also references to 'more junk food', such as sweets and chocolate, appearing in lunchboxes and less fruit.

The poll asked 253 adults, including youth workers, childminders, teachers, doctors and hospital staff, for their views on how children's diets have changed.

It found that more than four-fifths (84.6 per cent) say that in the course of their work, they have seen children who they think are not getting enough to eat.

Of those who said this, 84.8 per cent said that up to 30 per cent of the children they worked with were not getting enough to eat.

There were also concerns about children's health.

Three-quarters (76.5 per cent) of those who said that they worked with children who did get not enough food said that they thought the health of these youngsters was suffering.