School holidays costing parents more than £2,500 extra to feed kids over six-week break

Published: 11:19, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 11:26, 20 July 2026 Parents are bracing themselves for being driven out of ‘house and home’ by their children’s ruinously expensive scoffing which is due to cost them over £2,500 this summer. Mums and dads typically spend £171 on their weekly shop during term time but with the school holidays fast approaching that is set to rocket to an eye-watering £376 a week. Whether it is ice creams in the park, takeaways for film nights or treating the whole family to a slap-up dinner, new research shows the estimated bill will be £2,256 for the six weeks. Snack brand Once Upon a Farm commissioned a study of 2,000 parents which revealed that children fling open the fridge door an average of nine times in the holidays. In fact, nearly eight in ten of the mums and dads polled say their youngsters already eat more than them and the chorus of ‘I’m hungry!’ drives them round the twist. And when it comes to resupplying snacks during the holidays the pressure is greater than ever, with a multipacket of crisps lasting 16 hours, while sweets are gone in just 13. A box of brownies vanishes in 15 hours, while chocolate lasts just half a day, mini cheeses survive just 14 hours, and a pack of ham vanishes in 17 hours. And despite seeming to spend their lives in the supermarket in the holidays more than a quarter of parents hear their children complain ‘I am still hungry’ just an hour after eating. Stock: The summer holidays sees parents spend more than £2,500 on snacks for their children Nutritionist Sophie Trotman, who helped formulate the study, said: ‘The summer holidays can feel like a never-ending snack-athon for parents. ‘Children are naturally more active, more social and often at home for longer periods, which means they’re thinking about food more frequently. ‘While there’s lots of convenient grab-and-go options in the supermarket, they’re not always the freshest or highest quality. ‘In recent years, parents have become more mindful of ultra-processed foods in their children’s diets, so they’re looking for balanced options they can trust, especially during a busy summer.’ More than a third of parents are pestered non-stop, with the average child asking for food eight times a day. The constant nagging for snacks leaves more than two-thirds of parents worrying about their child’s diet during the holidays. In fact, 15% of the parents polled said it was a challenge to get their youngsters to eat healthily over the holidays, while more than 10% said their children refuse to eat vegetables. More than a quarter of parents admit that the family meal routine collapses, dinners get skipped, and home cooking is sidelined. A Once Upon a Farm spokesperson said: ‘It’s no surprise parents worry about the amount of junk food their children consume during the break. ‘The good news is that healthy snacks don’t have to be boring. ‘The reality is that children will snack throughout the holidays, but the key is making those snacks work harder for families by offering options that parents can feel good about.’