Commenting on The Policy Menu for School Lunches, a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"It’s clear that the current means-tested system of free school meal eligibility coupled with the Government’s cost of living crisis is squeezing family budgets and increasing food insecurity and child hunger. All children deserve a hot, healthy meal each day to be able to learn and access the education they are entitled to. Food is as important to learning as books, pens or a chair to sit on.
"Restrictive eligibility and a focus on means-testing eligibility results in many more children going hungry than are receiving free school meals. They also create unfair situations where two families in very similar circumstances receive different levels of support. Research suggests that the benefits of offering school food as a universal provision far outweigh the costs and that the best way to ensure that no child goes hungry is to offer free school meals for all. The Government must commit to rolling out free school meals to all children in primary schools as a first step and increase funding for school meals in line with inflation.”