I also struggle to pay, I’m always behind or in debt. Just because we have a job doesn’t mean it’s any easier, it doesn’t cut half our bills!

I don't have younger children now but I do believe every child deserves them, as its nourishing warming and healthy.

Cost of living is soaring right now, food, energy, rent… it all adds up. I honestly feel so grateful, as a single mother to two children, working and studying, that my children finally qualify for free school meals. No matter what statistics say every one struggles. I remember the days at school when I wasn’t entitled. I remember feeling singled out, and seeing friends having to queue up separately for tickets. It felt unfair then, and it matters so much that it doesn’t have to be like that now. Making them free lifts that worry off everyone’s shoulders.

With the stress of juggling finances and making ends meet, many parents are working hard to provide for their families and this would ease the pressure.

I work as a Police officer. After paying tax, national insurance and mandatory fees we are really struggling with 2 children at high school. I pay £60 per week for 2 children for school meals and the school bus travel meaning we are unable to save any money each month.

Every child deserves a good meal every day whilst in school. Look after the future, regardless of the income of parents.

Even when my eldest starts in year 3 my wife will only be working part time due to the youngest still going to nursery. Aside from that working full time for her while I do shift work and the kids are so young is nearly impossible due to school holidays. You normally get 5 weeks off per year per parent. 13 weeks off required to cover and thats not allowing sick or a week off together, ever! Most working families have only 1 full time worker until kids are older for reasons mentioned above. That is why I believe free school dinners should be for ALL primary school age children. Everyone is skint, things keep going up apart from wages. You can only cut your cloth so much until there's nothing left to cut.

There's no point in kids being at school if they're too hungry to learn.

Families are struggling enough at home, at least let a child get a meal in school.

All children should be able to start the day with their minds and bodies fuelled, not sit with stomachs rumbling and listless.

Everyone knows children focus and learn better when they are not hungry. Giving a free meal to every child takes the stigma away from who can and who cant afford a hot meal. Every child is equal. Having to make a packed lunch everyday,thinking of different things to pack is very stressful. A free school lunch would take the pressure of parents just one less thing to worry about. Makes the world of difference to parents.

Not all families including those where both parents are working can afford to pay for extra meals for their children. This would mean my child can have a hot dinner especially as we enter the colder months. A number of my child’s friends, can’t afford uniform either though both parents are working. 

So many parents and working parents are struggling to make ends meet.

I saw children deprived in many ways, one particular little boy at a school was so obviously neglected in every way no sole to his shoe, not washed and obviously malnourished. And yet his parents were not poor, he was the youngest of 4 children. He had breakfast at school and school dinners. When he went home at the end of the day he wasn't given a meal, just shoved out again with a bag of crisps. I wanted to help him, social services had tried but the parents were indifferent. Children, even if they come from what may be a reasonably well off family can still be neglected and be going hungry and might fall through the net of care.

This will reduce financial burden and improve the children's health supporting their learning outcomes.

Every child should be guaranteed at least one one healthy meal per day, unfortunately this is not always possible at home.

To pay for school meals for 2 children is over £100 a month, this is a massive amount for a family to find for their child to have a hot meal. This will ease my money as I was going to have to pay for 2 children from september, I now will receive free school meals for them which is a great help but even people who do not receive universal credit will struggle to pay for the school meals and I think that all primary children should receive a hot meal to aid learning and healthiness

So no child goes hungry - no one knows what goes on at home & a wealthier family doesn’t necessarily = a guaranteed healthy diet or food in the table!

It should be available for all. I have two primary school aged children and my husband and I both work and I do not see why claimants receive it and not others - by the time we have our wages and pay extra for childcare and school meals etc… we have less money than people who claim universal credit. It should be fair for all children.

All of us are paying taxes, all of kids deserve good meals and equal opportunities, if government can spend money in other areas they can spend in our schools.

Every child deserves a nutritional lunch. Lots of the children that bring a pack lunch to school have sugary items and no matter how much we speak to parents, this won’t change. We worry they are not getting the nutrients they need for their development.

I support this as I have 5 great grandchildren and I see everyday how their parents are struggling with paying bills and buying food. I think all kids should get free school meals. Kids are kids whatever their background or their needs. 

I work in the school kitchen, I am the Assistant Chef. I like to make sure we provide a healthy meal to all the children daily, for some it is probably the only hot meal they will get. It will be a great help for the children in the community who are not eligible for free meals.

My son is now in year 9 and it costs me £75 a month for school meals, some days he has nothing because there is not a lot left. Some days he has a good meal. Other days is pretty basic a cold sandwich!! We as working parents still get penalised. We don’t earn a fortune.. why can’t all school children get free meals?

I think free school meals should be for everyone within the UK, not just London. And regardless of income high or low! I’ve been on a high pay bracket as a family before and by the time you pay childcare, household bills, food, after school curricular activities, hobbies etc there is barely enough to cover the cost….even doing packed lunch daily is costly! So imagine all those on low income as I am now! For some children that may be their ONLY decent meal of the day!

I see a lot of children who come to school hungry. Every child deserves a hot dinner whilst at school. It’s also a way for every child to bond with friends.

I was a headteacher in an area of deprivation. In my first few weeks a child fainted in assembly because they had not eaten for nearly 48 hours. The food provided by the Local Authority was for free school meal pupils only but many parents didn’t claim, including some that were unable because they were unable to read or write. I witnessed lots of poverty where children’s futures were impacted by their backgrounds.

It is horrible thinking that some children are forced to go hungry whilst others are fed.

As a working parent, working as a teacher I have an affordable income however with the increase of other costs and now all 3 of my children in KS2 I am now having to pay £210 a month for my children to have a school dinner. Working parents are worse off and it's not fair.

I have seen poverty and some children rely on that one meal which costs very little and to make sure they get some nourishment at least once a day.

Too many children can't focus because they are hungry and/or lacking energy from not eating enough nutrients.

The free school meals are good for everybody.

I believe a lot of people who have mortgages & work are far worse off than those who receive Universal Credit as without rent you don’t have to be on a great salary to have your entitlement wiped out, probably have to pay a high mortgage repayment. I also believe eating together builds bonds and it gives children the opportunity to try new foods & to be guaranteed at least one healthy balanced meal a day.

Eating a complete diet can save a child a whole heap of trouble through their lives. Free School Meals for All just gives children a better start in life.

Because food is expensive - if it can be free in infants and keeps child nourished, it should be free for all children

Through my career as a teacher I have seen too many hungry children both in primary school and secondary, parents trying to ensure their children had food by buying the cheapest things available whether they were healthy options or not, just something to put in their child’s stomach.

I don't get any support due to my partner having savings and so my child would be at a disadvantage as not eligible for universal credit even though I work part time. I don't receive any help.

I grew up with school meals, they are vital in helping children learn. It helps the country to have educated people.

Every child should have a hot meal each day at school.

I see pupils day in and day out struggle to access education simply because they are hungry. Teachers are providing food and snacks to support pupils through the day, without this the children in their care would not be able to concentrate fully or reach their full potential. For what is only a few pounds a week, we could make a real long term impact on children's education and future lives.

A universal approach removes stigma, guarantees that no child slips through the cracks, and ensures every pupil has the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and reach their full potential. Investing in children’s nutrition is investing in their future — and in the future of our society. Let’s give every child the dignity, equality, and opportunity they deserve.

Stop the stigma associated with FSM, which some students/families feel and which can stop them from benefiting from FSM.

Good nourishing food increases concentration and the ability to learn.

We worked and saved towards a secure future for our retirement. Now as Kinship carers who are special guardians for two young boys, we find ourselves unable to access any benefits and means tested with our earnings, in a few years this will be our pensions that we have worked hard for. Yet we find ourselves paying for school meals alongside other expenses that come with two growing children. We are one Kinship family of many who have stepped up to raise children and find ourselves penalised for working hard and saving.

As the city’s food alliance, Feeding Liverpool supports the extension of Free School Meals to every child as an important means of preventing food insecurity, looking after the health of our young people and transforming our food environments. Working families excluded from current FSM policy are facing increasingly stretched household budgets as food inflation continues to rise. Extending access to a hot, healthy meal to every child is about prioritising children’s welfare and education, whilst alleviating cost of living pressures we are all still struggling with.

For me it was vitally important when I first started campaigning for FSM as I had children in primary school and high school, but what I came to realise is that this needs to be about every child. We don’t know what’s going on at home when a child arrives at school, what should be a priority is that every child can access a hot healthy meal there. That principle shouldn’t be affected by parents income, it should be a right.

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 school meals to be free.

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.