11-year-old Jessica and her three sisters live with their mother near Clacton. Money was already tight, but since their dad left the family has fallen on even harder times. Jessica is afraid of her family collapsing and her mother not being able to cope under the financial strain. Jessicaʼs mother regularly goes without food so that she can feed the children.
12-year-old Jack lives in a damp-riddled home in Leeds, despite suffering from asthma which has caused him to miss many days at school. Jack dreams of going on holiday one day, but right now his main concern is whether his mother will cope with having a new baby. Without their grandmother, he says, they would not be able to pay the bills. Jack is distraught when his pregnant mother is taken to hospital with severe cramps.
15-year-old Blue and her three sisters are often bullied at school for wearing worn-out clothes. Her worst nightmare is no-uniform day at school, which is when she suffers the most teasing. Blue talks candidly about her growing weight, a result of comfort eating caused by the bullying. Her proud and resourceful family are trying to get themselves off benefits by starting a tattoo parlour. Blueʼs mother desperately tries to keep everyoneʼs spirits up by creating free family holidays—camping in the back garden. The family even create their own ʻtake awayʼ dinners, made from home-cooked food wrapped in paper.
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