DAMNING research showing more than a quarter of children are growing up in a household facing hunger has renewed calls to end the two-child limit.

A new analysis by foodbank charity Trussell Trust, published today, reveals that in 2024, 14.1 million people, including 3.8 million children, faced hunger in the previous year.

The latest figures indicate a worrying trend of increasing hardship, with numbers rising from 11.6m in 2022.

More than 27 per cent of children are growing up in food-insecure households, rising to 31 per cent for children five and under, the survey revealed.

Succession actor Brian Cox, who is a supporter of Trussell, said: “From my own experience, I know the harsh reality of growing up in poverty and the lasting impact it has.

“No child should have to know what a foodbank is, let alone need one.

“The UK government must scrap the two-child limit to ensure children have the best start in life.”

Child Poverty Action Group says scrapping the cap, which blocks families from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children, would lift 350,000 children out of poverty.

Wages are no longer enough to make ends meet, with a survey of people referred to Trussell foodbanks revealing that three in 10 were part of a household where someone is in work.

Social security also fails to provide adequate protection when work doesn’t pay. Seventy-two per cent of those in working households who needed foodbanks also received universal credit.

Single mum Annie, who works in retail, says she works all the hours she can, but even with universal credit, it’s still not enough to cover rising costs.

She said: “By the end of the month, all the money has run out, and I often skip meals to make sure my daughter can eat.

“There are times when we’ve had no choice but to go to the foodbank.”

Trussell says the report should serve as a “stark warning” for the government to take urgent action to end the need for emergency food, including scrapping the two-child limit and providing better support to private renters on low incomes by uprating the Local Housing Allowance.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said: “In addition to extending free school meals and ensuring the poorest children don’t go hungry in the holidays with £1 billion to reform crisis support, our Child Poverty Taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy later this year."

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“We are also overhauling jobcentres and reforming the broken welfare system to support people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most.”