Tens of thousands of Scotland’s college students are going hungry because they live in households that have run out of food. And thousands more have mental health challenges directly related to their fears over food insecurity.
That is unacceptable in a nation where the government has made eradicating child poverty one of its key ambitions. In November, the Mental Health Foundation, in partnership with Colleges Scotland, released the shocking findings of the country’s biggest-ever survey to examine the mental well-being of Scotland’s students.
The Thriving Learners survey found one-in-six students were in homes where the food had run out and 25 per cent of those who experienced food insecurity reported severe symptoms of depression.
