Birmingham dad who skips meals to feed his kids makes heartbreaking four-word pledge

The former IT worker says 'it's tough but we try to do our best'

A dad who skips meals to ensure his children have enough to eat says it all looked so different a few years ago. Muhammad Hassan lost his job during the Covid pandemic - now he's being careful what he eats to ensure his two children are healthy.

Muhammad, which is not his real name, told BirminghamLive he promises his children "it will get better" but living in poverty-gripped Birmingham is testing him. He’d enjoyed a career in IT support but the company he was working for started facing difficulties and eventually collapsed, leaving Muhammad out of work.

He applied for jobs but found it difficult to get his foot back on the ladder as so many firms were in the same situation, barely able to keep hold of their current staff levels. To try to make the best of the problem, Muhammad and his wife swapped roles.

She became the main breadwinner, working 30 hours a week in a care home, whilst he stayed at home to care for their two children, aged six and 10. Whilst he loves spending more time with his kids, he says it is a real struggle financially to put food on the table and that sometimes he and his wife have to skip meals in order for their children to be fed.

Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency

Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:

1. End the two-child benefit cap
2. Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
3. Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
4. Protect children’s and youth services
5. Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
6. Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
7. Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
8. Provide free public travel for young people

You can see why in more detail here.

Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.

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Read more: 10,000 and counting - record number of homeless kids in city as scandal worsens

“It’s very tough but we try to do our best,” said Muhammad, who lives in Birmingham, “We never have enough food. I’ve applied to Birmingham City Council for the children to have free school meals but I’m still waiting to hear back. My wife and I sometimes miss meals ourselves so that the children can eat. It’s so difficult. The children sometimes ask what’s going on.”

The family would like the new government to encourage companies to offer greater employee assistance with childcare and to do more to make it easier for parents who are struggling with the cost of living to access support.

“It’s so hard to find work that fits in with being able to pick the children up from school," he said. "I like to be there for the children, to help them with their homework.”

The school holidays have been particularly challenging for the Hassans. Days out can be so costly, making it an impossible barrier for many families just struggling to put food on the table each day. However, Muhammad does try to stay positive.

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“We cannot afford days out, holidays, restaurants or anything like that. It’s tough but I say to my wife and kids we can do this. It will be over at some point so let’s just do our best and try not to think about the expensive stuff. We keep smiling and try not to make it a big deal.”

* Muhammad has asked us to change his name to protect his identity