More than 20 councils in England are not offering food vouchers to children over the Christmas holidays.
BBC analysis has found the number of councils no longer offering vouchers has continued to grow since August - with 21 having now scrapped the scheme.
The Food Foundation charity said it was "vitally important" all eligible children received holiday support.
But the Local Government Association said some councils could not afford to continue offering the vouchers.
Zoe McIntyre, school project manager at the Food Foundation, which campaigns on food policy, said the fact some had dropped such schemes was creating "a postcode lottery on who is receiving additional support and who isn't".
