Campaigners welcome government commitment to supporting children
The government has expanded Free School Meal provision to over half a million more children, in a major win for campaigners.
From the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to Free School Meals, which the government said will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.
The expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty, according to the Department for Education. Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, it added.
Since 2018, children have only been eligible for Free School Meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, but the expansion to those on Universal Credit will change this and comes ahead of the Child Poverty Taskforce publishing its 10-year strategy to drive sustainable change later this year.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures. My government is taking action to ease those pressures. Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.
“This expansion is a truly historic moment for our country, helping families who need it most and delivering our Plan for Change to give every child, no matter their background, the same chance to succeed.”
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson added: “It is the moral mission of this government to tackle the stain of child poverty, and today this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents’ pockets.
“From Free School Meals to free breakfast clubs, breaking the cycle of child poverty is at the heart of our Plan for Change to cut the unfair link between background and success.
“We believe that background shouldn’t mean destiny. Today’s historic step will help us to deliver excellence everywhere, for every child and give more young people the chance to get on in life.”
More cash for fresh produce redistribution
The government is also offering more than £13 million in funding to 12 food charities across England to redistribute thousands of tonnes of fresh produce directly from farms to fight food poverty in communities, Phillipson explained.
The Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme is aimed at helping farms and organisations to work collaboratively to ensure edible food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the plates of those who need it, including schoolchildren.
The Free School Meal expansion has been welcomed by campaigners. Kate Anstey, head of education policy at Child Poverty Action Group, described the announcemnt as “fantastic news and a game-changer for children and families.”
“At last more kids will get the food they need to learn and thrive and millions of parents struggling to make ends meet will get a bit of breathing space,” she said. “We hope this is a sign of what’s to come in autumn’s child poverty strategy, with government taking more action to meet its manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty in the UK.”
Soil Association head of food policy Rob Percival said: “This is good news for the hundreds of thousands of families across England who struggle every day to access and afford sufficient food. Free School Meals provide a nutritional safety net and can help tackle inequalities, and this move will ensure more children receive them.
“We have campaigned for over 20 years to ensure that healthy school meals are given the priority they deserve, and our Food for Life Served Here programme, which certifies over a million healthy meals every day, supports schools and caterers to deliver high-quality, nutritious meals.
“We would urge the government to ensure that it is providing sufficient funding for caterers on the ground to deliver on this promise to deliver healthy and sustainable meals. The government should also build on this announcement by introducing parallel measures that ensure school food is sustainably procured, channelling additional spend into the pockets of British and organic farmers.”
