I’m a foster carer; every penny we receive is spent on giving our children amazing experiences. We attend meetings after meetings, we complete daily admin, training and various sessions with other professionals. It’s hectic! We’ve always received FSM for our looked after children and it’s been a huge weight lifted financially & mentally. Now it’s either a rushed packed lunch in a morning or being chased by school to top accounts up. The selection of food at high school for our children is also quite poor. They need at least £5 a day to get something substantial and that adds up very quickly!

We have many children at our school in Birmingham that don't have breakfast (we provide toast) and the school dinner is their only hot meal of the day. Opening it up to all children would end food poverty and help so many more families. Every child deserves to have a hot meal every day in our country. School staff are paying out of their own salaries food to feed children… we aren’t paid enough to do this , but we can’t let children starve.

Children need one good meal a day and many are not getting that as parents are trying to juggle so much: work, home and, most of all, finances.

Every child needs to have free school meals and every mother needs a basic income to support her children.

Because me and my partner both work, I work days and he works nights so we can support our family. The cost of living is so high for us at the minute and we aren’t entitled to benefits. We still have our mortgage and bills to pay on top of food. I think that all children should receive school meals so that it is fair to all and just not benefit claimants. Us working parents are struggling too.

I will helps improve my family wellbeing and reduce stress from my coping expenses.

I think school meals should be for all students in every year from infants to high school and it should be free for everyone. I have to pay for my children sometimes I have the money, sometimes I don't have the money for it because we're not on universal credit so it's very expensive.

If it wasn't for school meals that were free I genuinely would not have made it to GCSE and I would not have gone on to eventually complete my Masters. Fed children learn and engage.

I work in the school kitchen and would love for free school meals.

Having enough decent food is part of education. It says we all matter whoever we are.

For those without any support, the cost of school meals for the children is becoming more and more expensive. All children should be able to have warm cooked meals instead of workers having to resort to packed lunches to try help costs at home.

My child is going into year 3 and I will have to skip some meals for myself to cover the cost of lunch

Hungry children can't focus and learn. With the cost of living crisis parents, like myself, find it difficult to afford school lunches.

The cost of living crisis means that not every child gets to eat 3 meals a day.

There are children that the school meal is the only substantial meal of the day!

Often those not entitled are the ones who struggle financially the most as they just miss out on the benefits. The middle class working parents struggle the most.

I know from working as a teacher that pupils are happier and find it easier to concentrate and learn when they eat a decent meal on a regular basis. I feel no child should suffer hunger and be held back from fulfilling their potential by this basic need.

As The Hub Community Centre in Altrincham, we advocate for free school meals for all primary school children because it aligns with our core commitment to social justice and compassion. Ensuring every child receives a nutritious meal eliminates the stigma and financial burden currently associated with means-tested eligibility, allowing all children to thrive regardless of their family's income. A well-fed child is better equipped to concentrate and learn, leading to improved educational outcomes for the entire community. This is a practical expression of our belief in the inherent dignity of every person, ensuring no child in our town is left hungry and that all have the best possible start in life.

As Altrincham Baptist Church, we advocate for free school meals for all primary school children because it aligns with our core commitment to social justice and compassion. Ensuring every child receives a nutritious meal eliminates the stigma and financial burden currently associated with means-tested eligibility, allowing all children to thrive regardless of their family's income. A well-fed child is better equipped to concentrate and learn, leading to improved educational outcomes for the entire community. This is a practical expression of our belief in the inherent dignity of every person, ensuring no child in our town is left hungry and that all have the best possible start in life.

At Food For Thought, we see every day how access to a hot, nutritious meal helps children to thrive in school- supporting not just their health, but also their focus, confidence and ability to learn. Positive steps have already been made, but more must be done. It is vital that we invest in the wellbeing, education and future of our children. Extending free school meals would remove stigma and barriers, but these meals must not only be free, they must also be good: fresh, nutritious, local food that supports children and strengthens communities. Free school meals, done the right way, are about ensuring that every child, rightfully so, has the opportunity to flourish.

Since Covid, we have seen an alarming increase in the deprivation in our community and families struggling with the cost of living. We regularly send home food or give out food vouchers. We offer free breakfast to all of our pupils across all ages as we know we cannot teach any child that arrives in school hungry! There should be no need to do this in the 21st Century in Western Europe. We fully support this plea to roll out free school dinners to all Primary aged children.

I received free school meals as a child... I had to go get my ticket separately and the teachers would openly ask who qualified for a free lunch..During the week it was the only balanced hot meal I had... weekends were toast, maybe with beans...

My husband was a teacher. He taught in a large secondary school in a deprived area of Coventry. I can tell you the accounts he used to bring home of some of the children, who clearly hadn't eaten before they arrived at school, were heartbreaking and often reduced me to tears. Some of those children couldn't afford to eat at lunch time either. Naturally this would affect behaviour in the classroom but this is hardly surprising. It is a tragedy, that in a country that is purportedly one of the richest countries in the world, that this can happen to some families who cannot afford to feed their children

My children live on the breadline. My divorce and childcare means there is just £100 a week left for petrol and living costs. Cost of living is ridiculous.

I am a retired Primary school teacher. I started work in 1973 and realised that some of the children in my children in my classroom struggled to learn simply because they were hungry. I started bringing in milk and cereals for them. I feel and continue to feel that a hungry child has absolutely no chance of learning.

So many children get lost or don't have proper hot meals during these times of uncertainty and high living costs.

Because children are our future and food will help them to learn better and be better. Its a win win. Cancel the orders for guns and ammunition and redirect the funds to food for our future. Give peas a chance.

My grandchild is starting secondary school and the key thing he is worried about is whether he will have enough money for lunch and to buy bottled water as on the 3 day induction he ran out, got thirsty and had to borrow money from a friend. Both his mum and dad are working and are paying nearly £1000 for private rent and his mum has struggled to buy the compulsory logoed uniforms for him and his sister. I am helping as much as I can but I am a pensioner.

Well, school is a chance to shape minds - so, get kids used to community, equality, social well being and health. Make it feel like society cares for them, that it nourishes them in every sense.

No child should be hungry it will impact their learning, their mood and their future.

Every child should be entitled to free school meals we are all struggling whether we work or don’t. Working parents children should not be separated from the non working in this day and age.

I think every child should be given the chance of well balanced, wholesome hot meal at school regardless of whether they can afford it or not. It's important that a child receives at least one wholesome meal a day. Feed the child, feed the brain I say !!

Children deserve a good meal, it may be the only good meal children get a day. I have two daughters in high school and it is costly for school meals: one daughter gets free meals one doesnt 

As a community credit union rooted in the North East of England — a region where child poverty rates remain among the highest in the country — we strongly support the campaign for free school meals for all children in England. Every day, we see the financial pressure faced by working families who are doing their best but are still struggling with rising living costs. Ensuring all children have access to a nutritious meal at school is a simple, practical step that supports children’s health, wellbeing and ability to learn, while also easing pressure on household budgets. Universal free school meals remove stigma, promote equality, and represent a long-term investment in our children, our communities, and our future economy. As a not-for-profit organisation committed to financial inclusion and tackling poverty at its roots, we believe this policy aligns closely with our mission and values.

I want to live in a world where no one goes hungry, there is enough food and resource to feed every child across the world if it wasn't for uneven distribution. We can be an example to the world.

I am a pensioner and my orphaned grandson William lives with me and my husband who is also a pensioner. Before she died 5 years ago his mum received benefits as she was terminally ill, therefore William received free school meals. As kinship carers and legal guardians of William we cannot claim any benefits at all because we receive our full pension and a small private pension, therefore William is not entitled to free school meals. However I believe that in certain areas of the country eg. Newcastle, kinship carers receive a payment similar to foster carers and therefore do receive free school meals! This is an postcode lottery!

Free school means for our child would be so beneficial. As a family we do not claim universal credit but are by no means "well off" and the costs we are now paying for our child to have a hot meal is around £60 per month on top of other school fees, wrapround care, trips and lesson contributions. Not to mention other house hold bills rising too. That £60 per month equates to around £600 per year, that is a hige amount of money for parents who are financially struggling. It is proven that children focus and learn better when they have hot healthy food to eat and sharing that experience and socialising with their peers is the foundation for health relationships.

Disabled children who have to be on a special diet are being forgotten again - they have to take own food/drink into school but are not reimbursed.

Please let all children have healthy food! I see so much junk food in pack lunches, all children shouldn’t become addicted to sugar and salt just because our shops make it easier to buy these. It’s unfair on children and parents . These small bodies are irreplaceable, they have one and it should be as healthy as possible.

Just because a family ‘on paper’ has above a certain salary, you don’t know the full picture or story of their lives. Meals should be free for all children to ensure the best start in life and to ensure they are ready to learn. There is money for so many other things - our children should be priority.

I want to see our children achieve and access social mobility through achievement.

Back in the 60s and 70s my Mum was a school meals supervisor. I remember that every month she had to plan the next months meals, this included a detailed count of calories, proteins, carbs and a whole range of other item which the authorities would then assess had the required elements to give each child the opportunity to have at least one meal a day that was nutritious and fulfilling. It’s strikes me as a travesty today that this service is viewed as an archaic and peculiar procedure. A hungry child will not learn much at school: we knew this then but have ignored this fact for decades. We will all pay a heavy price for this ignorance. Get all children fed NOW before it’s too late. (From an ex teacher).

Cost of living has increased alot and the price of lunchboxes for two kids is so much. It would take the stress of families and households.

It is so important that all children get free school meals. It not only helps the children live better, be stronger and therefore learn better but it also takes pressure off families

I was a hungry child in the 1950's. I had hoped by now - no child should be going hungry. No-one can learn with an empty stomach - By feeding all school children none would fall through the system.

Because it might be the only meal a child gets in a day. So many are struggling with no food, how can children learn when they are hungry?

My children are still quite fussy so sending them in with a packed lunch will be very difficult and costly since there are restrictions on what they can take

Because it is hard for parents to pay their school dinners even if they are working....

Cost of living is crazy this would take the pressure off so many families so they would have money for other things that they don’t at the minute. It will be so much less pressure on me as a mum and help me save vital money. 

For some families, the cost of food, energy, rent and everything else that comes with raising children has become incredibly difficult to manage. Parents are doing everything they can to make ends meet, but sometimes there simply isn’t enough money left over. Now imagine the relief of a parent knowing that, whatever happens at home financially, their child will have a healthy and filling meal at school. They know their child won’t be sitting in the afternoon feeling hungry. They know they’ve had something nutritious to eat, and they can concentrate on learning, playing and being with their friends.

Hello Prime Minister,I'm 85 and can remember the subsidised school meals, from the labour Government right after the Second World War. Paid for by everyone paying their fair share of tax. Them with the broadest shoulders paying their fair share of tax. There are plenty of broad shoulders in our country today. Lets have the meals on the table for our youth.

With the cost of living still so high, household budgets are tight for many families, and every additional expense can make a difference. Our child currently receives a free school meal, but this support will end next year as he moves into Year 3, and we are concerned about the financial pressure that will bring. We want to ensure he continues to have access to a healthy, nutritious lunch every school day without having to make difficult choices elsewhere in our household budget. Extending free school meals to every child in primary school would provide valuable support to families, ensure every child has access to a nutritious meal, and give them the energy they need to learn and thrive at school.

We don't qualify for free school meals and it is a real struggle to pay for food for our two children. They both have coeliac disease so can only eat gluten free food, which makes it more expensive for the basics of bread and cereal. Free school meals would take such a weight off for us and help our grocery budget stretch a little further.

It would combat the abuse and discrimination I experienced as a child sent to school in patched jumble sale clothing and in receipt of free school meals. Always felt tongue-tied and looked down upon by teachers and children 'fortunate' to live with with both parents and not seriously physically attacked in the home (prefab) by the lone 'parent.'

Every child in education should be provided a free school meal. As this could be the only healthy meal some children get. May it be primary or secondary school. As a carer I personally know how hard it is in my community for some children.

I taught in London in the 1970s and saw the lethargy and behavioural issues hunger brought on. I kept a large bag of apples in the store cupboard in my classroom. Now, as a grandparent, I am ashamed that we still have hungry children in our schools. Our future generations need brain food to partake intelligently in this turbulent world.

This might be a child's only hot meal for the day. Some parents don't want to admit they are struggling parents and will try and cope. By providing a free school meal to every child this will allow parents to provide a better quality meal in the evening.

All children should be allowed free school dinners. Just because you’re not on benefits does not mean you are not struggling .

With the cost of living crisis 2 working parents are living from pay check to pay check, month to month. It is not affordable. This country penalises working people

I work in a primary school kitchen so I know first hand that ALL kids should get a free school meal. Parents/kids shouldn’t be penalised for working and not qualifying for them.

It will make a big difference to children in school, learning and attending

There are families who can not afford food or electricity at home. Food at school shouldn’t be something they should worry about.

Me and my husband are kinship carers. We have taken my husband’s granddaughter in. We had retired but gone back to work and have to pay for school dinners along with everything else that a 7 year old needs, money is tight and that’s the reason we have both had to go back to work.

To ensure every child has the option to have a free school meal as everything is so expensive these days!

As a parent and teacher in Harpurhey, one of the most deprived areas in the country, I can honestly say that that free school meal would often be the only proper meal these children will get and it’s so vital to their development. Please help us feed those children and take the pressure off for struggling parents. I’m begging you 🙏

Free school meals should be available for all children, not just for infants. It makes no sense. Why should children aged 4-7 be entitled to free school meals but children 7+ aren’t. It’s putting extra pressure on parents to find at least £2.70 a day. It might sound like nothing but £2.70 a day is £54 a month extra on school dinners. No child should be left out.

I think this day and age with the cost of food gas etc plenty children will not get enough food to nourish them. Heat or eat - the cost of living is sky high. And children should get the best so they grow into confident people. Plenty will be going school hungry and that might be the only meal. Surely the Government can do something for our children.

Cost of living keeps going up and packed lunches don't give my child the nutrients that she need. My child needs a freshly hot cooked meal and to join the rest of her friends who have school meals but instead the school don't allow packed lunch and school meal children sit next to each other which separates the children into groups and this not good for their social development either.

No child in the UK should sit in a classroom hungry — yet this is the reality for thousands of families today. Free School Meals for All is a simple, powerful policy that ensures every child has the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive. Hunger holds children back. It affects concentration, behaviour, attendance, and emotional wellbeing. Teachers see this every day. Universal Free School Meals remove the stigma, remove the bureaucracy, and remove the barriers that stop children from reaching their potential. This is not just a food policy — it is an education policy, a health policy, and an anti‑poverty policy. When every child receives a nutritious meal, schools become fairer, families feel supported, and communities grow stronger. Universal provision is proven to boost attainment, improve wellbeing, and ease the pressure on households already stretched by rising living costs. We are calling on the Government to act now. Free School Meals for All is a practical, compassionate step that will transform children’s lives. No child should be left behind because of hunger. The time for universal provision is now.

I have 3 under 5, so in Northern Ireland its 3.10 per day for a primary dinner £15.5 per week per child, so once my younger 2 start school I won't be able to afford to let them take dinners, and its a shame as I know they have had a hot meal and it takes the stress off food at home.

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is calling on Government to extend free school meals to every primary school child because good nutrition is fundamental to children’s health, development and ability to learn. With around a third of a child’s weekday meals potentially eaten at school, the food provided in schools has an important role to play in shaping children’s diets and supporting their health and development. School meals are one of the most significant opportunities we have to improve children’s diets, tackle food insecurity and reduce health inequalities. Universal provision would ensure that every child can access a nutritious meal, regardless of their family’s income, while reducing stigma and supporting children to learn and thrive. The BDA believes that access and quality must go hand in hand. Free school meals should be nutritious, inclusive and based on current evidence, with schools supported through a wider Whole School Food Approach that puts food, nutrition and sustainability at the heart of school life. Appropriate investment in catering facilities, the workforce and dietetic expertise is also essential to make this work effectively. We are supporting this campaign because every child deserves the opportunity to eat well, learn and thrive. A nutritious school meal should be a guaranteed part of the school day, not something that depends on household income. Universal provision is an investment in children’s health now and in their future health.

Every child should be given free school dinners. No matter what the background it makes it an even playing field at school

I work in a school and I think all children should receive free school meals. Doesn’t matter what year there in or how old they are to claim free… they're ALL still children. Think it’s about time now government treat them all equal.

We all deserve free dinners for our kids.

It's just common sense in these hard times

I came from a one parent household so I was entitled to free school dinners beginning at junior school,all the way through my senior years and to tell you the truth they were a godsend to both myself and my mum. Sometimes I remember how my mum would wait until both my sister and I had finished eating dinner and she would eat whatever we left. So free school meals were the only guaranteed decent meal I would have all day.

I am a disabled parent, I use a wheelchair. I try to remain in work and provide for our family. My husband also works at the local hospital. We only get child benefit, however we have little disposable income. Free meals for our children would be a huge help, both financially and physically, I currently have to make a packed lunch for our children.

It is significant costs to a working family to pay for before and after school clubs just to have the luxury to remain in employment. Then there are the ridiculous 6-7 week school holidays and other term time holidays where we need to pay £100+ per week per child just to be able to stay in work. For some families that cost alone is equivalent to a months rent. And then school meals on top. I’d rather not have child benefit but have school meals paid for. I’d rather not have child benefit but have school start earlier without a cost. I’d rather not have child benefit and have a 4 week summer holiday rather than a 7 week one. It is absolutely insane how the government is expecting people to work but the education system is not aligned to the employment system to support working families.

Every child needs a free meal. Food is fuel also there is parents out there struggling to pay costs for school dinners also a hot meal is more important than a packed lunch more satisfying and nourishing

I would love to see the return of the one bottle of milk in junior school, that was always something to look forward too mid morning

Every child should be entitled to a free school meal, not just parents on benefits.

As a 39 year old who parents always worked. My family were never entitled to free school meals. As a parent myself, we have 3 children in primary education that also are entitled to free school meals. Nor the help with uniforms or any other form of help through the government. "Because we work" is an awful excuse to give a child when they ask why their friends go to dinners every day and they have lunches! Stop making our children different. Should be part of the school education a healthy HOT school meal for every child.

My son and his partner are both in employment they have four children three still in primary school and can’t afford school meals. They are on minimum wage and due to the cost of living crisis can no longer afford a hot meal for the kids.

All children should be entitled to a hot meal regardless of background.

Free school meals saved us three kids in the 50s and 60s as our Mum was left with two daughters and a newborn son. We all flourished at school each one of us had a professional job as a social worker, a nurse and an architect. That meal at school was the only one we got in the day and we even had provision to go into a local school for lunch during the school holidays. It was a no brainer. Affordable then so should be affordable now.

Back in 1960’s Sunderland children had healthy (2 course) meals and milk every day. Poor families had the opportunity of sending their children to a Saturday lunch). Reinstate this level of support for families and their children.

All of us need good nutrition, children all the more so. I've worked in various types of school, but in each one of them, it soon shows when a child is not getting enough food.

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on our children is huge. We are witnessing hungry, tired, sad, worried and traumatised children, unable to perform at school, attending less and become weaker; some are turning to petty crime to help feed their families such as stealing leftover food from school bins; this the level of their desperation. As school and public health nurses our role is to prevent ill health and promote positive well-being; without advocating and standing up for this ongoing injustice and rising health inequalities we would also be failing our children. Joining forces with like-minded others helps amplify our combined voices and thus, an improved chance of being heard and a positive response from our decision-makers. Universal free school meals will ensure that every school child receives at least one meal per day, this will go a long way to helping our children become healthier and happier thus achieve, attend, and attain at school. Without this we will continue to see the re-emergence of long-gone health conditions such as scurvy and rickets, malnourishment, and an ongoing decline in our children’s health, education, and well-being outcomes. This is flawed and conflicting policy as will cost billions in the long run compared to a fairly insignificant comparative investment now

At Cook Stars Chester we believe every child should have access to nutritious food- no matter their background. Food is essential to fuel growing bodies and minds. Getting through a school day hungry prevents learning and this is unacceptable! Free school meals for all would help provide more equal opportunities for all children.

All children should recieve a hot dinner

As Kinship carers who stepped up to raise children, due to means testing on savings and pensions. No we won't be eligible for free school meals for the children. Saved for our retirement and watching it be stripped away.

Every child deserves a good meal every day whilst in school. Look after the future. Regardless of the income of parents. Those not on benefits should have the option to donate to school charity if they want.

Children rely on school meals and a nourished child is far more capable of engaging.

No child should sit in a classroom hungry. Yet today, children are going without a hot meal simply because of their parents’ income, employment or immigration status. This is wrong, and it must change. I work in a primary school as a support staff/teaching assistant with an SEN child. I see every day how a school meal can lift a child’s mood, calm their behaviour and help them learn. A full stomach gives a child dignity, confidence and the chance to thrive. I am also a working parent with three children. Because of my immigration status and NRPF, my children—including my British child—are shut out of support other families receive. School meals cost us around £270 per term. For families like mine, that is a heavy, painful choice between bills, food and basic stability. We work. We contribute. Yet our children are left behind. NRPF rules trap families in hardship, where even a simple school meal becomes out of reach. Universal free school meals would change everything. It would guarantee every child a hot, healthy meal. It would remove stigma. It would lift pressure from working families who fall through the cracks. And it would put children first—where they belong. No child should be punished for their parents’ circumstances. A child’s access to food should never depend on immigration status. Every child deserves to be fed, supported and ready to learn.

Children who are hungry may struggle to concentrate, participate and stay engaged in lessons. A reliable school meal can help children start the afternoon ready to learn.

Free school meals would mean that no child feels embarrassed because they cannot afford lunch. Everyone would be treated equally, and children could sit together and enjoy their meals without worrying about who has paid. In conclusion, free school meals would help children stay healthy, learn better and feel included. School should be a place where every child has the same opportunities, and free school meals would be an important step towards making this happen.

As a parent who isn't entitled to universal credit but still struggles daily with the mortage and bills I believe my child should recieve free school meals too!

Everyone getting a free school meal would be a massive equaliser, no more shame and no more packed lunch issues: allergies, unhealthy or incomplete meals: every child getting a nutritious, hot meal which allows them to learn, play and thrive.

The difference between a child who has access to a good lunch and a child who hasn’t is noticeable, academically, socially and physically.

Ultimately we are part of a system where working parents are at the mercy of local services for childcare and extra curricular activities. We send our children to school, it is not free, we all pay for it through our taxes. Why is it that we have to pay for lunch when this is an essential need for our children whilst learning and in the care of the school. I think we should go the extra mile and include this for secondary schools too. That fact that we have children going hungry in 2026 is a disgrace to this country.