HUNGER IN A COUNTRY WHERE THERE IS 'ZERO HUNGER'?

Alex's story - "My students were suffering from hunger everyday." Posted 21 October 2026 Across the country, people are receiving a milk bottle on their doorstep containing a letter from a neighbour who is struggling to afford food. Alex is one of them. Letter to the community Dear neighbour, I wanted to get in touch with you in the area as I know these are difficult times for many families. I was a teacher in Oxfordshire and lots of my students were suffering from hunger every day. Children are unable to learn when they are hungry. I was the hungry kid when I was at school and I struggled to learn. I remember a student who kept lashing out and hitting other students. He was internally excluded several times and was nearing a permanent exclusion before anyone managed to ask the right question and he finally told us that he was only eating one meal a day and often his parents didn’t even eat every day. It is so horrifying that he didn’t feel safe to tell us because he was worried he would be taken away. In my classroom I had a snack cupboard that is used frequently. Children would come in at the start of the day and take fruit or cereal because they didn't have food at home. For some children the last meal they had was the free school lunch they received at 12pm the day before. I worry about hungry children constantly. I also worry about what they do in the school holidays, but there’s only so much schools can do to help. Will you stand with me to support the right to food, so all children in our community can access the food they need to thrive at school? Alex* (Oxfordshire) *This letter is from a real person whose name has been changed to protect their identity.