Hunger is not just about empty stomachs, it’s about missed opportunities, poor health, and lost potential.

Across the country, children are arriving at school without breakfast, struggling to concentrate because they haven’t eaten. Families are skipping meals to feed their children. Teachers are stepping in wherever they can, turning schools into emergency food hubs, often without the funding or infrastructure to do so sustainably.

No child should go hungry.

That’s why Rethink Food launched the National School Pantry Network (NSPN), a practical, dignified, long-term response to food insecurity in schools.

The NSPN provides direct funding, training, and wraparound support to schools in areas of high deprivation, enabling them to run stigma-free school pantries that families trust. Each school receives funding to purchase nutritious food, access to learning and impact tools, and support to embed food education alongside provision, ensuring help reaches families both in school and at home.

The impact of this work is now being recognised nationally.  In 2025, the NSPN was highlighted as a case study in the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy – Our Children, Our Future, recognising it as an example of effective, community-led action tackling child hunger. This acknowledgement reinforces what schools and families already know: local, trusted solutions are a vital part of ending child poverty.

We go beyond food provision.  The NSPN empowers families with choice, dignity and food education, while helping schools build stronger, healthier communities from the ground up.

Join Us in Making a Difference

• Schools: Join the National School Pantry Network and receive funding and support to run a school pantry.

• Businesses & Funders: Partner with us to deliver measurable social impact and help tackle child hunger at scale.

• Individuals: Support our work through fundraising, challenges, or donations.

Together, we can ensure that no child starts the school day hungry and every family has the nourishment, stability and dignity they deserve.

Get involved. Support a school pantry. Be part of the change.