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400,000 children in the UK were supported by baby banks in 2025.
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The number of children supported by baby banks in the UK increased by 11% from 2024 to 2025.
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The Baby Bank Alliance was set up by Save the Children UK.
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The Baby Bank Alliance represents and advocates for more than 400 baby banks across the UK.
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Research from the Baby Bank Alliance found that an average of 1,096 children were supported by each member every day.
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Baby banks handed out 26% more tubs of baby formula in 2025 compared to 2024.
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4.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK, according to the latest data.
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The UK government abolished the two-child benefit limit earlier in 2025.
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The two-child benefit limit restricted families to universal credit support for their first two children only.
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Sophie Livingstone is the chair of the Baby Bank Alliance.
Sophie Livingstone, chair of the Baby Bank Alliance
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"It’s pretty damning, isn’t it? Families are needing help for systemic reasons, not because there’s a one-off shock to their lives."
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75% of families supported by Baby Bank Alliance members cite unsuitable or insecure housing as a pressure they face.
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Sophie Livingstone is the chief executive of Little Village.
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Little Village is a London-based network of baby banks.
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village
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"We often have families needing us to replace all their children’s clothes because they’ve been rotted by mould."
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village
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"We never have enough beds. It’s really difficult when we come across a family sleeping on the floor in rodent-infested accommodation."
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village
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"My assumption is that it is going to take a child longer to potty train if they’re in that situation."
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village
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"We know families are struggling more than ever with work and housing insecurity, rising energy and food bills, and unaffordable childcare."
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village
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"Baby banks are doing everything they can to provide a crucial safety net and stop families from falling through the cracks, but charities alone cannot continue to absorb the impact of child poverty on this scale."
Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village
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"It’s time the government took the impact of poverty in children’s early years more seriously."
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The Little Lighthouse baby bank is located in a church hall in Wythenshawe, Manchester.
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The Little Lighthouse baby bank provides clothes, books, toys, and assorted equipment.
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Nappies, toiletries, and baby formula are handed out at Little Lighthouse on a referral basis.
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Laura, 39, has been visiting Little Lighthouse for nearly three years.
Laura
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"I intended to breastfeed but I struggled because I wasn’t producing enough milk. The midwife said, ‘You’re going to have to use formula.’"
Laura
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"When we found out, we wanted to meet people who were having children at the same time."
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Laura and her partner Daniel both volunteer at the Little Lighthouse baby bank.
Laura
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"We wouldn’t want to have another child knowing that we’d struggle financially."
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North-west England has the highest number of families supported by baby banks in the UK, outside of London and the south-east.
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The Rev Caroline Hewitt set up the Little Lighthouse baby bank in September 2019.
Caroline Hewitt, Rev
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"We’ve had families who won’t miss their referral, which is new."
Caroline Hewitt, Rev
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"He’s shown quite considerable interest in the baby bank network across Greater Manchester."
Sophie Livingstone, chair of the Baby Bank Alliance
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"Baby banks are an incredible community effort but I would love to see a society where they are not solely run in the context of families being in crisis."
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