Marcus Rashford MBE and Jamie Oliver MBE Write to Government Calling for Urgent Review of Free School Meals

• Letter calling for urgent review of Free School Meals sent to PM Boris Johnson  
• The letter has been signed by Marcus Rashford, Jamie Oliver, Dame Emma Thompson, Tom Kerridge, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and over 40 major NGO’s, Charities and Educational Leaders 
• This follows the call from the Food Foundation for Government to act urgently to protect the 4 million children living in poverty in the UK many of whom are not currently receiving Free School Meals 
• 2.3 million children experienced food insecurity and during the 2020 summer holidays 850,000 children reported that they or their families visited a food bank (Food Foundation) 

Link to Letter 

In light of recent developments on current food provision for Free School Meal pupils during Covid-19 school closure, a letter signed by Marcus Rashford MBE, Jamie Oliver, Dame Emma Thompson, Tom Kerridge, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and over 40 NGOs, Charities and Education Leaders has today been sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on the Government to conduct an urgent comprehensive review into Free School Meal policy across the UK to feed into the next Spending Review.  

The letter coordinated by the Food Foundation details the main areas the review should cover:  

1. Review the current eligibility thresholds for Free School Meals across all four nations to eliminate disparities and to explore whether disadvantaged children are being excluded in line with National Food Strategy recommendation. The ongoing eligibility for children with No Recourse to Public Funds should be considered explicitly.  
2. Urgently consider how funding for Free School Meals can deliver the biggest nutritional and educational impact, supporting children’s learning and well-being throughout the school day and during the school holidays (including breakfast provision and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme). This should include whether the current allowance for Free School Meals is adequate and whether funding for national breakfasts adequately covers all who would benefit from access to provision. 
3. Explore how schools can be supported to deliver the best quality school meals which adhere to school food standards and which ensure the poorest children receive the best possible offer, including by introducing mandatory monitoring and evaluation on an ongoing basis of Free School Meal take-up, the quality/nutritional adequacy of meals, and how the financial transparency of the current system can be improved. 
4. Consider what we have learned from Covid-19 and its impact on children in low-income families and the implications of this for school food policy for the next 5 years, as the country recovers. 
5. Consider how existing school food programmes (such as Free School Meals, holiday and breakfast provision) can eliminate experiences of stigma for the poorest students. Review the impact that Universal Infant Free School Meals has had on stigma, health and education.  
6. Consider the role of family income (wages and benefits) in enabling families to afford quality food in and outside of school time and during the holidays with choice and dignity.  

The process should involve input from all the devolved nations and done in consultation with children and young people, as well as teachers, charities, NGOs, frontline catering staff and school meals service providers. It should draw on evidence of food insecurity and health inequalities.   

List of Signatories 

Individuals  

• Marcus Rashford MBE 
• Jamie Oliver MBE 
• Dame Emma Thompson 
• Tom Kerridge 
• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 

Civil Society, Professional Bodies and Industry 

• Anna Taylor OBE, Executive Director, Food Foundation 
• Stephanie Slater, Founder/CEO, School Food Matters 
• Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive, Chefs in Schools 
• Mark Russell, Chief Executive, The Children Society 
• Barbara Crowther, Coordinator, Children’s Food Campaign 
• Paul Wright, Lead, Children’s First Alliance  
• Andrew Forsey, CEO, Feeding Britain  
• Rob Percival, Head of Policy, Soil Association 
• Mark Game, CEO, The Bread and Butter Thing 
• Clara Widdison, Head of Social Inclusion, Mayor’s Fund for London 
• Stephen Forster, National Chair, LACA The School Food People 
• Peter McGrath, Operational Director, Meals & More 
• Bill Scott, Chair Poverty and Inequality Commission  
• Lindsay Graham, Vice Chair Poverty and Inequality Commission 
• Sabine Goodwin, Coordinator, Independent Food Aid Network UK 
• Kieron Boyle, Chief Executive, Impact on Urban Health  
• Sam Butters and Gina Cicerone, Co-CEOs, The Fair Education Alliance 
• Melissa Green, General Secretary of the WI 
• Jayne Jones, National Chair, ASSIST FM 
• Alysa Remtulla, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Magic Breakfast 
• Thomas Lawson, Chief Executive, Turn2Us  
• Joseph Howes, Chief Executive, Buttle UK 
• Graham Whitham, Director, Greater Manchester Poverty Action 
• Judith Cavanagh, Coordinator, End Child Poverty Coalition 
• Andy Elvin, CEO, TACT 
• Irene Audain MBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Out of School Care Network 
• Cara Cinnamon, CEO, Khulisa UK 
• Dr. Nick Owen MBEC EO, The Mighty Creatives 
• Joseph Howes, Chief Executive, Buttle UK 
• Dr Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director, The Equality Trust 
• Satwat Rehman, CEO, One Parent Families Scotland 
• Claire Donovan, Campaigns Manager, End Furniture Poverty 
• David Holmes CBE, CEO, Family Action 
• Paddy Lillis, General Secretary, USDAW 
• Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group  
• James Toop, CEO, Biteback2030 
• Jess McQuail, Director, Just Fair 
• Sue Tanner, Oxford & District Action on Child Poverty, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Rose Hill & Donnington Advice Centre, Oxford 
• Barbara Crowther, Coordinator, Children’s Food Campaign 
• Jo Whitfield, CEO, Coop Retail 

Health Bodies  

• Dr Max Davie, Officer for Health Improvement, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 
• Diane Ashby, Change Programme Director, The British Psychological Society 
• Dr Ruth Allen, CEO, British Association of Social Workers 

Education Leaders 

• Geoff Barton, General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders.  
• Emyr Fairburn, Headteacher, King’s Cross Academy 
• Julian Drinkall, CEO, Academies Enterprise Trust 
• Steve Taylor, CEO, Cabot Learning Federation  
• Chris Tomlinson, CEO Co-op Academies Trust  
• Catherine Barr, CEO, The Shared Learning Trust  
• Susan Douglas, CEO, The Eden Academy Trust  
• Elizabeth Wolverson OBE, Chief Executive, LDBS Academies Trusts (LAT and LAT2) 
• Emma Knights OBE, Chief Executive, National Governance Association 
• Louise Johns-Shepherd, Chief Executive, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education 
• Russell Hobby, CEO, Teach First

 

Quotes

Anna Taylor, Executive Director Food Foundation said:  "How our country’s most needy children are fed should be a top government priority.  School food has lurched from one crisis to another in the last few months. It’s time for a root and branch review to put in place the provision needed and help our children recover from the tragedy which this pandemic has inflicted.

 

Editor's Notes

Please contact:  

• Jo Ralling – 07770 500858 / jo.ralling@foodfoundation.org.uk 

Social Media   

• Twitter: @Food_Foundation  
• #EndChildFoodPoverty  
• #FreeSchoolMeals 
• #Right2Food 

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 galvanize 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 synthesizing strong evidence, convening powerful coalitions, harnessing citizens’ voices, and delivering impactful communications.  

 

A YouGov poll, commissioned by the Food Foundation earlier this year, found that 10% of parents/guardians, affecting an estimated 1.9million children, reported that food insecurity had affected their children in a variety of ways in the last 6 months forcing them to  rely on only a few kinds of low cost food to feed their children (6%) and provide unbalanced meals (5%), and to resort to smaller portions (1%) or skipping meals entirely (2%) (Food Foundation).