66,000 children are living in poverty in the West Midlands and missing out on Free School Meals

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Every primary-aged child in London can get a free lunch at school, with the same being rolled out in Scotland and Wales, but in the West Midlands Combined Authority, 66,000 children living in poverty are denied access to Free School Meals due to strict eligibility criteria.  

Help us end the school meal postcode lottery: click on the button above to show you support the extension of Free School Meals. 

Ahead of the mayoral elections on May 2nd, we’re calling on all mayoral candidates to champion Free School Meals and ask their national party to commit to expanding provision of Free School Meals across the whole of England.    

There’s lots of evidence to show that nutritious Free School Meals make children healthier, happier and help them perform better at school. Find out more about why it’s so critical that Free School Meals are expanded in the West Midlands, and follow our campaign on social media.  

Across the whole of England there are 900,000 children living in poverty who aren’t eligible for Free School Meals – scroll down to find out more about our country-wide campaign to expand provision.  

Feed the Future - England Campaign

There are 900,000 children in England living in poverty who are not currently eligible for Free School Meals.

Families are really struggling with the cost of living crisis, which is having an awful impact on children who are not getting the food they need to grow up healthy.

WATCH OUR CAMPAIGN STUNT AT WESTMINSTER

There is also a postcode lottery, as all children in primary schools are able to get a Free School Meal in London for one-year and permanently in Scotland and Wales.

However, here in in England there is a very restrictive threshold meaning that only children from families with a household less than £7,400 (before benefits, after tax) can receive a Free School Meal.

This is why we we're calling for the Government to extend Free School Meals to more children.

They guarantee children a hot, nutritious meal at lunchtime. They support families with the rising cost of living, help pupils engage in learning, enhance academic performance, and improve nutrition – shoring up the diets of children from low-income households.

Expanding eligibility to all schoolchildren with a first step of targeting children in households on Universal Credit would be an effective way to make school food fairer, while supporting families struggling with a huge rise in the cost of living immediately.

New data shows Labour and Conservative party target voters overwhelmingly back giving Free School Meals to more children.

It comes after all primary school children in London are now eligible for Free School Meals for this academic year, thanks to a policy introduced by Mayor Sadiq Khan, meaning 287,000 more will have access to hot, nutritious food.

Learn more by reading our Superpowers of Free School Meals Evidence Pack.