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With the cost of living crisis, there have been increased calls to ensure that school lunches are made free for all UK pupils, beyond the FSM that pupils already get (up until year 2).
We’re big believers that a properly fed child is a child who learns to the best of their ability, and that children who are hungry will struggle with behaviour, learning, emotional regulation and much more. Marcus Rashford gave this topic a massive publicity boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, with his influence leading to the Government changing their policy on not providing food vouchers to children who qualify for FSM during the school holidays. The result? £396 million was provided in 2020 to ensure vulnerable children were fed, helping over 1.7 million children! Read more here.
However, the cost of living crisis means that the topic of hungry children and 'food poverty' is once again at the forefront, much to the frustration of campaigners who fought valiantly to improve the situation during the pandemic.
The maximum household income to qualify for free school lunches is a LOT lower on Universal Credit than for families who haven’t switched over from Tax Credits - a maximum earning per household of only £7400 per year for families who receive some Universal Credit, and a maximum earning of £16,190 for families on Child Tax Credit if they don't get Working Tax Credit. This means that there are thousands of families who are struggling financially yet seen to earn too much for help with school dinners - it adds up!
It costs over £450 a year on average for one child to have school lunches. It is also worth mentioning that families who earn a medium-high income 'on paper' could still be struggling financially to cover their costs for a myriad of reasons; feeding our children is something that families from ALL demographics are struggling with at the moment. The treshold for qualifying for FSM is simply far too strict, in the eyes of many.
Heartbreakingly, there families where children rely upon their school lunch as their ONLY real meal of the day, be that down to financial difficulties, family health issues, or even worse circumstances such as abuse. So, for these children, if their parents either earn too much to qualify for FSM or the authorities haven’t noticed that they’re in need of support, there’s a huge crevasse that these literal ‘forgotten children’ risk falling into once they start year 3 and lose their only hot, balanced meal of the day. Zayn Malik, best known as a member of One Direction, is one of many celebrities pledging their support to creating free school meals to every child struggling, in support of The Food Foundation and their campaign.
“No child should have to suffer the trauma and stigma of hunger & poverty. We want every child to grow up healthy to lead productive lives. I am calling on @10DowningStreet to expand #FreeSchoolMeals to every
— Zayn Malik Updates (@ZaynReport) November 8, 2022
child in poverty in England.” - Zayn via Instagram pic.twitter.com/Qml15Twgwg
We’re aware that there’s not a magic money tree to fund free school meals for all pupils beyond year 2, but it’s certainly something that should be better explored and campaigned for. The costs of funding this would actually, theoretically, benefit the Government long-term with improved health and educational outcomes in the affected children as they progress into adults so it makes SENSE to invest in children now. That one meal could make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of children.
If this is something that resonates with you, please consider signing the petition we've found. With enough signatures, it will be debated in parliament, and hopefully be enacted. Currently, 100% of voters in our private community group agree that school meals should be free to ALL UK pupils, not just those between reception and year 2!
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