One quarter of children in Lincoln are living in poverty.
According to statistics from campaign group, 38 Degrees, 25.51% of children in the city are living below the breadline.
The group are campaigning against cuts to Child Tax Credits and people can find out the number of children living in poverty in their area by entering their postcode at www.nomorekidsinpoverty.uk
The research comes from and 2014 study by Loughborough’s Centre for Research in Social Policy.
James Milton from the Trussell Trust, a charity which runs food banks in Lincoln and across the country, says that people can fall into hardship at any time:
“There are a whole multitude of factors that can tip households into real crisis, real poverty. It can be typically an interrpution to income or family breakdown.”
According to the childrens’ charity, Barnardo’s a family of four with two adults and two children needs £349 a week to keep them above the ‘breadline’. However, rising living costs, drops in earnings, job loss and benefit changes are all listed as common reasons families fall into poverty.
In Lincoln, around 8 children in every class of 30 will be living in this situation. Despite these high numbers, Mr. Milton says that supply to food banks in Lincolnshire is very strong, naming people’s sense of community spirit as the main reason:
“Local people make sure that other local people have somewhere to turn to at those times of crisis.”
“People don’t like seeing their neighbours go hungry,” he says.