Past Campaign

Feed The Future 23

Every child should eat, enjoy and learn about great food in school but many are missing out. So in 2023, we campaigned to stop school food becoming a luxury.

Access to good school food changes kids’ lives for the better – it improves health, attainment and wellbeing. Yet, the cost-of-living crisis made school food unaffordable. Survation polled 1,000 parents for us to find out more about the impact.

Not only is school food beneficial for well-being, it improves health and attainment. And yet, nearly one million children living in poverty are not eligible for a free school meal. We’re also seeing a postcode lottery of access emerging. England’s school meal eligibility threshold is currently the most restrictive of all the devolved nations – only families who earn below £7,400 are entitled to free school meals – whereas in Scotland and Wales, free school meals are being introduced for all children at primary level, while Northern Ireland’s eligibility threshold is almost twice that of England’s at £14,000.

In London, all primary school children are now entitled to free school meals following a policy change from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, but children in secondary schools miss out. We, and many other campaigners, continue to call for eligibility for free school meals to be extended to all families receiving universal credit. This would ensure every child is guaranteed a nutritious meal in school.

Read the Full Report Here

“The quotes from parents within this important research are truly heart-breaking; hard-working parents feeling ashamed and children missing out on the nutrition they need to thrive. Surely it’s time for ministers to step up, prioritise children’s health and wellbeing and be proud to be the government that introduced stigma-free school food for all.”

Stephanie Slater
Founder & Chief Executive, School Food Matters

CAMPAIGNING OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT

Check out the #FeedTheFuture coalition’s ‘Kids Aren’t Eating’ Campaign in Westminster.

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Biteback’s Petiton
calling for an expansion of FSM, acheived 262,000 signatures.

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1 Big Campaign Stunt
The coalition’s ‘kids aren’t eating ‘ stunt garnered national attention.

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Survation Polling
we commissioned shed light on the realities of many families.

Survey Finding

“I’m upset that my child has to take packed lunches when he likes to eat the hot meals at school.”

30%

can no longer afford to pay for school lunches for their child.

41%

had to pack less nutritious lunches for children because of price rises.

Survey Finding

“It makes me feel terrible and guilt ridden as she’s no longer able to sit with friends that do have school meals.”

Survey Finding

“It makes me feel like a failure, I feel it makes my child less focused.”

56%

said they had struggled to make ends meet.

83%

felt the government should expand eligibility of free school meals.

Survey Finding

“Kids need to be treated equally and that means having access to school meals. Hunger impacts on a child’s learning – you can always tell when a child hasn’t had lunch.”

“More than half of parents are struggling to make ends meet, unable to afford hot lunches or nutritious packed lunches. Yet this Government refuses to ensure that every child who needs it gets a decent hot meal each school day, despite huge popular support for extending free school meal access.

“We now have growing inequality, where age or location determines whether a child is fed in school. It’s unjustifiable.

“We know that eating a meal in school goes beyond immediate hunger, providing a powerful opportunity to nourish and educate children too. Investing in child health is investing in the future, when will this Government start realising it?”

Naomi Duncan
Chief Executive, Chefs in Schools