IN THE NEWS
As the cost-of-living crisis continues into another year, the nation’s children should not be victims.
But there are nearly four million children living in poverty – many of them in homes where there’s not enough money to pay for a hot meal, with some of them having to skip meals entirely. And this is why being able to have a good meal at school is so important.
Earlier this month, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, proposed providing £140m to continue universal free school meals for state primary schoolchildren in the capital for the next academic year – with research showing that it will save families up to £1,000 over two years, per child. And there are calls for this to be rolled out across the country.
Barbara Crowther, Children’s Food Campaign Manager at Sustain, says, “A hot and nutritious lunch at school is a healthy investment in children’s learning and development, and providing food to all pupils equally makes for more inclusive, effective and harmonious classrooms.
“There is still an appalling failure to bring national school meals policy up to date with the realities of 2024. We call on politicians of every party to step into the policy vacuum and set out plans to expand healthy school food progressively to children of all ages across the UK.”
Closer speaks to one mum who explains why free school meals are a lifeline…
MUM OF THREE: ‘I have no clue how I could feed our children properly’
Admin assistant Kerry Harlow*, 34, lives in London with her husband, Gareth, 35, a hospital porter, and their children, Dominique, nine, Rhiannon, seven, and Alfie, six. She says, “I have no clue how I could feed our children properly without the support of free school meals. I work part-time and Gareth’s
hours were halved six months ago. With the rising cost of bills and groceries, it was a constant worry how we could afford everything. Every penny was counted for.
“But knowing that the children get a good meal in school every day gives me peace of mind and feels like a huge burden is lifted. It means I can just give them a cheese sandwich or beans on toast in the evening as they’ve had a meal like lasagne with vegetables and some fruit at school. Everything they eat is well-balanced and nutritious.
