John Dickie, head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said there was a "real opportunity" to improve children's health by providing universal free school meals.
He was speaking after the latest figures from the Executive showed that fewer pupils who were entitled to a free school meal were present and took their meal on the day of a survey carried out in January than in previous years.
Dickie said that the stigma of receiving free school meals would only be removed if there were universal provision.
"The Executive said that universal free school meals would not be required to remove the stigma. However, we would say that the evidence does not back it up.
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