40% of disadvantaged students prepare their own meals during summer vacation and the nutritional conditions are poor

Xiaobao and his sister have been raised by their grandmother since they were young. The family of three lives on the subsidy from their grandmother. In an era when everything is expensive, they can only choose cheap ingredients to eat. Their bodies seem frail among their peers. Facing the upcoming summer vacation, there will be no nutritious lunches at school for the time being, and Xiaobao has even fewer opportunities to eat meat. At such a young age, he has to cook three meals a day for himself.

A survey conducted by the Children's Alliance shows that nearly 40% of disadvantaged children reported that no one helped them prepare meals during the summer vacation, and the result of preparing their own meals was that they often found themselves in a dilemma of having one meal or no meal at all. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

The Child Welfare Alliance Foundation said that disadvantaged children like Xiaobao do not look forward to the summer vacation at all. Without school teachers to help pay attention to their meals and lacking at least one balanced nutritious lunch, disadvantaged students can only prepare their own meals, which not only do not allow them to eat well, but they also do not get enough to eat.

This statement is well-founded. In March this year, the Children's League conducted a survey on the summer diet and living conditions of 3,623 disadvantaged children in fifth and sixth grades. Nearly 40% of the children reported that no one helped them prepare meals during the summer vacation. The result of preparing meals by themselves was that they often fell into the dilemma of having one meal or no meal. More than 45% did not have breakfast every day, and 30% did not have lunch every day. The content of the meals was also worse than usual. As a result, after a summer vacation, the disadvantaged children not only did not grow taller and stronger, but appeared thinner.

In addition to poor nutritional conditions, the Children's Alliance survey also found that half of disadvantaged children stay at home alone during the summer vacation, and as many as three-quarters have never had the experience of family travel during the summer vacation. On the contrary, they are often forced to become little adults, needing to do housework, take care of sick family members or younger siblings. For them, summer vacation is not a happy memory.

The Children's Alliance said that in an M-shaped society, disadvantaged children and ordinary children, although living in the same world, lead two very different lives, and the public needs to donate love and resources to narrow this gap.