Food banks: 'I go without food so my son can eat'

More than a third of children in London are currently living in poverty, according to a recent report by the Childhood Trust.

A quarter of the children it surveyed are also not expecting to receive a present under the tree this Christmas.

Many families are relying on food banks to feed their families.

One mother explains how she goes without food so that her son can eat.

Video Journalist: Meghan Owen

[rjpender]

Those who say, " money doesn't buy happiness" should try living like this.

[dannybourne_]

Nothing wrong about asking for help, ever !

[cindyrolle]

My mother would do the same when we were growing up. If any food was left after the 4 of us children had eaten, then she would eat.

[pizzyg]

It's tragic to see parents who have to resort to using food banks and struggling no matter how hard they work 😔❤❤❤

[barrett]

This is so heartbreaking. That in the 21st-century people are still going without food!! 😢 😭

[sumanbhave]

BBC should give advertising money from this video to her.

[cutandgo]

I think that the problem also lies in many people having relied on takeaways, processed and packaged food for so long and have no clue how to whip up healthy and hearty meals on a budget.

[kartiersupremewhite]

She a Great Mom and Women doing her best! God Bless her and her Son.

[margaretcorfield]

At least there are foodbanks these days. When my children were small, we went through a period from September to January where my wages did not come through. We collected the wilting vegetables from the tray outside the greengrocers at the end of the day, scavenged for hazel nuts, blackberries and other free growing fruits in the woods and fields, grew what we could in the back garden. The child benefit gave us a little money for limited electricity, and whatever was over bought mostly flour, eggs, and dried pulses.

[SevenEllen]

One in three children in London are living in poverty?? What the hell is happening to this country?!!

[wendygraham]

Used to do the very same thing when my kids were little, no food banks then, but how on earth do we need it now?, this country is going baciwards

[CoolAsianBrit]

Not just the basic food to survive also utility bills and others add up - so called ‘ cost of living’

[heathercrawford]

When my daughter was small, I didnt have much and didnt overspend on Christmas. She knew that I would give her what I could (without getting into masses of debt). The best gift I gave her was love, not material things. To this day she is a responsible person, grateful for what she gets.

[doctorpanigrahi]

It gives an idea why Many European countries went on to invade other countries. Cold climate and Lack of agricultural land are a liability when a country has to survive by importing foods.

[babycharliebrown]

I feel so sorry for this lady trying to do the best for her son. She’s a real hero..it’s disgusting in this day and age in the UK that a lot of us are living like this.

[MotoTvWoodsFarm]

the society and services you receive are the ones the nation gets when it votes for conservatives government. Expect it to get much worse there's couple years before the next election

[capnhands]

Do they make fathers pay child support in the UK?

[Stringbean]

Food banks are a blessing in disguise. As long as we have food banks then the Government of the day will not do anything. That's the trouble with food banks, the Government have passed the buck onto the ordinary poor citizens. If we had no food banks imagine how many people would die from either starvation or committing crimes in order to try and survive and that would not look good for the Government now would it.

[daviniarobbins]

Most adults only really need to eat 2 meals, breakfast and dinner. A third meal isn't essential unless you do heavy manual labour.

[laniharris]

This hunger crisis needs to be covered by every major news outlet.