Doctors pressure Government on Free School Meals

'Every day, healthcare professionals see the impact of hunger and malnutrition in their work'

Leaders representing more than 150,000 doctors and medical students, and over half a million nurses, midwives, dieticians and support staff have joined the chorus of teachers and poverty campaigners demanding free school meals are immediately offered to thousands more children as part of the ongoing Feed the Future campaign.

In a letter today to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and education secretary Gillian Keegan, they are urging action to protect children’s health as the nation faces its worst cost of living crisis for generations.

The devastating impact on children is glaringly apparent: "Every day, healthcare professionals see the impact of hunger and malnutrition in their work," say the group which also includes medical TV personalities Dr Adam Kay, Dr Alex George and Dr Chris van Tulleken, as well as health visitors and academics.

Their letter highlights the spiralling number of families struggling to get enough food - as shown by The Food Foundation’s new evidence that four million children now live in households affected by food poverty.

Most worrying is the fact 800,000 children in families in poverty in England already identified as requiring Universal Credit (or equivalent) to survive, are still not getting access to Free School Meals.

"Many of these children have to skip lunch completely or rely on cheap, unhealthy food that is damaging to their long-term health," the letter says, pointing out that without good nutrition, rapidly growing children risk obesity with its associated health complications, reduced capacity for academic achievement and lifelong disadvantage in the job market.

"We urge the UK Government to act now to protect the health of the nation's children by expanding the Free School Meals scheme to all children in desperate need to guarantee them a hot, nutritious meal at school, for their health, the economy and the NHS."

The group responsible for the letter, which includes the British Medical Association and leaders of the medical and nursing Royal Colleges, also highlights a recent report commissioned by Impact on Urban Health from the analysts PWC, which estimated that expanding free school meals to primary school children would benefit Britain’s faltering economy with an £8.9 million annual boost in improved productivity and health.

"We believe all children in England should be guaranteed access to the food they need to lead healthy lives," the letter concludes.

The Feed the Future campaign is urging people to write to MPs calling for Free School Meals to be offered to all children in homes receiving Universal Credit.

Dr Chris Van Tulleken, academic and BBC broadcaster, said: "It's an avoidable tragedy that up to 800,000 kids in poverty are sitting in classrooms all over the country too hungry to learn. Ensuring that all children have access to healthy nutritious food is the most basic function of any government."

Professor David Strain, chair of the BMA Board of Science, said: "Doctors know how important a healthy, nutritious school meal can be. With the cost of living rising, more and more children are threatened with food poverty, which can mean more malnutrition and more obesity as families turn to cheaper and less healthy options.

"That means more children at risk of type 2 diabetes, poor mental health, and weakened immune systems. Childhood obesity also generates changes in brain chemistry that make weight loss in later life much more difficult, making the problems worse in the long term.

"That means more long-term pressure on an NHS that just can’t take it. The new prime minister has said he won’t leave the next generation ‘with debts to settle that we are too weak to pay ourselves’. Refusing to extend Free School Meals would leave a health debt that doctors will be dealing with for years to come."

Dr Helen Stewart, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) Officer for Health Improvement, said: "RCPCH stands alongside the Feed the Future campaign in urging the UK Government to expand the Free School Meals scheme to all children in desperate need to guarantee them a hot, nutritious meal at school, for their health, their education, the economy and the NHS.

"As a paediatrician I’ve seen first-hand how essential good nutrition is during the critical period of rapid growth and development that is childhood. We are seeing the impacts of poor nutrition every day, with both poor growth of deprived babies and children on the one hand, and rising child obesity on the other.

"Teachers are telling us about seeing hungry children in school and the impact on their wellbeing and learning. Many parents have no option but to buy cheaper lower quality and less nutritious food in order to feed their children and pay their bills.

"I believe we have a moral responsibility to help these families and to ensure that all children have enough to eat."

Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of The Health Foundation, said: "The cost of living crisis is putting huge financial strain on households across the country, with damaging consequences for the nation’s health now and in the future.

"A risk is that many more children, particularly in deprived areas, will miss out on nutritious food or simply go hungry.

"Expanding the Free School Meals initiative is an intervention now to help many families up and down the country, and could have long term benefits to future health and prosperity. Government can and must act to prevent the cost of living crisis becoming a health emergency."

Dr Martin Godfrey, a GP in South London, said: "GPs in central London are increasingly seeing children who are malnourished.

"In my borough, Lambeth, over 40% of children live in poverty and 20% of children have gone to bed hungry due to lack of food at home. We are seeing thin, pale children who lack the energy of a normal child. There isn't much clinically we can do to help other than signpost parents to people and places that can. We all need to do more right now. Extending access to Free School Meals would make a huge difference."

Dr Jonathon Tomlinson, GP and educator The Lawson Practice, Hoxton, North London, said: "Free School Meals can make the difference between a child that is thriving at home and at school and one who is not.

"One thing I do notice is that most children seem to have iron, folate and vitamin D deficiency and when I ask them, they don't eat anything green (for folate).

"Inadequate nutrition can manifest as fatigue, recurrent infections and behavioural problems where they become costly and time-consuming issues for families, schools and the NHS.

"Good nutrition is essential for everyone and especially so for children who are growing and developing. Healthy immune and nervous systems should not be out of reach because of low incomes." 

AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT:
Dr Camilla Kingdon president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Dr Helen Stewart -  RCPCH Officer for Health Improvement

MEDIA CONTACTS
Please contact:    
Lois Rogers – The Food Foundation on 07770 350822 or lois.rogers@foodfoundation.org.uk
Laura Kennedy – Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health on 07772 686022 or laura.kennedy@rcpch.ac.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA     
Twitter: @Food_Foundation  #FreeSchoolMeals #FSM #FeedTheFuture
Instagram: food.foundation

About Feed the Future
Feed the Future is a campaign led by a coalition of organisations including The Food Foundation, Bite Back 2030, School Food Matters, Child Poverty Action Group, Impact on Urban Health, Chefs in Schools, Jamie Oliver Ltd and Sustain. This coalition is making the case that Free School Meals should be extended to more children.

About The Food Foundation
The Food Foundation is a charity working to influence food policy and business practice, shaping a sustainable food system which makes healthy diets affordable and accessible for all. We work in partnership with researchers, campaigners, community bodies, industry, investors, government and citizens to galvanise the UK’s diverse agents of change, using surprising and inventive ideas to drive fundamental shifts in our food system. These efforts are based on the continual re-evaluation of opportunities for action, building and synthesising strong evidence, convening powerful coalitions, harnessing citizens’ voices and delivering impactful communications.
Registered Charity Number 1187611.