Free school meals for children who need them

School meals play a fundamental role in promoting healthy eating and tackling disadvantage.

• Only one in five school children are currently eligible to receive a free school meal
  
• Twenty per cent of children entitled to free school meals do not take them – a major reason is stigma
• One million children living in poverty do not get a free school meal
• Ten per cent of children are deterred from taking school meals by cost
• School meals are the only hot meal received by one in four children
• Many children who have free school meals still have to sit apart from their friends

Further information

2006

'Bring back free school meals'
CPAG's Kate Green makes the case for universal free school meals – in Hull and the rest of the UK
(link to Education Guardian)

Scotland School Meals Bill campaign
CPAG, along with Poverty Alliance, One Plus, the Scottish Youth Parliament, a range of voluntary organizations, nutritional experts, academics and politicians from across the political spectrum, is supporting proposals for a new School Meals (Scotland) Bill. We are calling on all members and supporters to respond positively (by 30 September 2005) to a consultation on these proposals that would extend entitlement to free school meals to all children in state primary schools. Find out more. Find out more.

2005

School meals fact sheet (54 KB pdf )

• School meals play an important role in tackling disadvantage and in the fight against child poverty.
  
  The need for good-quality, easily accessible school meals is more important than ever. Of the 1.8 million children entitled to free school meals in the UK, over 350,000 do not claim them due to fear of stigma and bullying.
  
  Research also shows that millions of mothers often have to go without food because they do not have enough money, in order that their children can eat.
  
  
• Download a 4-page school meals fact sheet (54 KB), including sections on: What is food poverty?; Food security; The importance of healthy eating; Policy developments; What needs to be done?; History of school meals; Examples of good practice for school meals; CPAG recommendations.

2004

• Recipe for Change: a good practice guide to school meals
  This is the first book to bring together examples of individual initiatives from around the UK that have significantly improved the quality and take-up of school meals. It also includes an overview of the link between nutrition and child poverty, and developments in school meals policy and practice over the last 50 years. It makes key policy recommendations and includes many practical ideas that school meals providers can adapt for use in their own community. See publication details

2001

• CPAG publishes research showing how schools and Local Education Authorities can successfully improve take-up by addressing stigma and providing better quality meals. Read the summary of the report, download a 5 page (47KB) document.
  
  
• Report calls for action to improve school meals take-up
  Over 350,000 children a day fail to claim free school meal
  press release 9 May 2001
  'People just think that if you're on free school meals you're going to be a one sock person, they think that your not very nice and that your parents just can't be bothered to get a job or something.' [Pupil]

• Filling the Gap: Free school meals, nutrition and poverty
  Over a million children living in poverty in the UK are currently missing out on free school meals. Filling the Gap explores why so many of our poorest children do not get free school meals and provides the facts, figures and arguments for all those campaigning on school meals issues. See publication details
  
  
• School meals and healthy eating A CPAG briefing
  
  
• Why the Free School Meals campaign?