Bradford should rightly be proud of the work that was done in the city to pioneer the idea of free meals at school early in the last century.

So it is particularly sad to see the level of children who are living in poverty and the number of families now dependent on food banks.

More than 37,000 youngsters are now classed as living below the breadline, with inner city areas hit far harder than their more affluent counterparts. An appalling 68 per cent of children in Bowling and Barkerend are classed as living in poverty.

There is no doubt we are in straitened financial times, and all of us face difficult choices when deciding how we spend our income.

But too often, it seems that those who are at the bottom end if the scale are hit hardest by difficulties of the recession.

Children should not be going hungry; they should not have to cook at school to ensure they have sufficient nutrition at home; and they should not rely on their parents going to food banks.

This is a situation that simply should not be happening in the 21st century.

From the government downwards, we all have a responsibility to do whatever we can to help end this intolerable throwback to supposedly far less enlightened times.