The number of Australian children going to school hungry has risen dramatically, with one in three kids now regularly sent off without lunch as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.

Children’s charity Eat Up reports the alarming figure has grown from one in four the previous year, and one in five the year before that, as more families struggle to pay their bills.

Every Wednesday, a special delivery arrives at schools across the country: trays of fresh fruit, sandwiches and snacks for Aussie school kids who would go hungry without it.

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“We would have 200 to 250 students come through every week,” one school representative said.

One in three Aussie kids going to school hungry as crisis deepens Credit: 7NEWS

“The queues are getting longer, but it’s just a wonderful asset to our community to support our families.”

The charity now delivers 1.2 million free lunches to more than 1,200 schools across the country every year.

“And then they go off the rest of the day, they’re happy, they’ve got full stomachs, and hopefully it translates in the classroom as well,” a volunteer said.

Despite expanding operations including a new van on the road in Brisbane this year which has taken 70 schools off the wait list, and another new delivery van in Melbourne, it’s not enough.

More than 470 schools across Australia are currently on the waiting list for school lunches, and that number is growing.

The charity is urgently calling for volunteers and cheese donations. Schools and businesses can sign up for sandwich making sessions, where volunteers can generally make 1,000 cheese sandwiches in 60 minutes or less.