Infant free school meals uplift branded ‘inadequate’

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi announced that funding to provide healthy school meals for pupils in years one and two will increase from £2.34 to £2.41 per meal, backdated to 1 April.

The funding increase, which totals £18m per year, has been agreed “in recognition of the rising cost of living”, according to DfE.

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However, organisations supporting families facing food poverty, have said that the uplift does not match rising inflation and will “do little” to improve the quality of food in schools.

Kate Anstey, head of the cost of the school day project at the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “Nobody is going to turn down today’s offers of increased support with meals, but they’re just tweaks and won’t make the kind of difference that kids need to see.”

Zoe McIntyre, project manager at the Food Foundation, added: “This small increase in funding may alleviate some of the pressures of rising prices, staff shortages and supply chain problems suffered by school caterers, but it only applies to universal free school meals and is not in line with inflation.”

James Bowen, director of policy at the National Association of Headteachers, described the uplift as “inadequate”, saying: “An extra 7p per day is simply not enough to cover the increased costs schools are facing. In the current climate, £2.41 will not stretch very far and caterers will still be left facing difficult decisions about what they can provide”.

As part of the announcement, Zahawi also shared details of a roundtable discussion with supermarkets and sports organisations about boosting support for the government’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF).

He said: “I’ve seen some incredible support from organisations across the country for our Holiday Activities and Food programme, and I wanted to celebrate the action they are already taking in local communities to support disadvantaged children and their families. Together I have no doubt that we can do more.”