The Revd Lizzi Green on the reality of child food poverty

Churches have been supporting the footballer Marcus Rashford’s call to tackle half-term hunger this week, after MPs voted against a Labour motion to extend free school-meal vouchers to the school holidays. The Revd Lizzi Green, Assistant Curate of Gossops Green and Bewbush, in the diocese of Chichester, has personal experience of food insecurity. She writes in this week’s Church Times: “I am all too aware of the effects of childhood poverty. Both my parents worked, but had to stop, owing to disability. “I was in junior school the first time that my family was threatened with eviction. I was convinced that it meant that we would be living on the streets, and ran around our flat making sure that I’d packed extra teddies and jumpers in my school bag for me and my siblings. I didn’t eat breakfast for most of secondary school. At first, I convinced myself that eating that early made me feel ill. Later, because I wasn’t used to it, that became reality. “Years later, this is still the reality for children across the country.” On this week’s podcast, Lizzi talks about her experience, and the food poverty she has witnessed among children in her parish. And explains why she thinks the Government should change its mind about free-school meals during the school holidays. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.