Hereford food bank estimate a '20% rise' on referrals to them including children so far this year
The charity says it was expecting to see an overall increase of 10% on all referrals this year compared to last, but had seen a rise in the number of children included in them
Hereford food bank says it's 'anticipating' seeing an increase in demand again towards the end of the summer holidays.
Thousands of Herefordshire children and young people in nurseries, schools and colleges, are continuing to receive free school meals support over the summer break.
Herefordshire Council estimate over 4,700 children primary and secondary school pupils who are entitled to benefits related free school meals are getting free food vouchers to cover the cost of a lunchtime meal during the holidays.
Manager of Hereford food bank Helen Parker says the vouchers are a positive but those who don't get them are still needing their help and referral umbers aren't slowing down still.
"We have seen a 20% increase in the number of children included in our referrals so far this year," she said.
"It's a concern for us because our overall rise in referrals for this year is predicted to be 10% compared to last year but that rise in children means we're issuing larger parcels.
"We're noticing that we're seeing more families that are not eligible for the free school meals, so they're not getting the vouchers, those working families that haven't got the disposable income to buy the essential food items."
Figures from the charity revealed 680 children were included for the period from January to June in 2024, with that rising to 924 in the same period for 2025.
The food bank also says they don't usually see a spike in the number of people needing their support until the summer holidays comes to the end.
Parker said: "In the first two weeks, we don't see as many families coming through that are in receipt of free school meals because they've been issued those vouchers.
"We will start to see the spike like last year and we're anticipating it towards the end of August.
"That's when people have to start buying school uniforms and essential items, so we are preparing ourselves for that."
The free school meals food voucher scheme is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through the government's Household Support Fund and aims to support vulnerable families who have been particularly affected financially by the rise in the cost of living.