Why Are Free School Meals So Important?

 by Eli Jeynes

With 1.4 million children in England claiming free school meals in January 2020 alone it is clear that they play a key role in helping to relieve child poverty. Due to Marcus Rashford’s campaign the government are now promising a £170 million winter grant to help provide support to families with food and bills this winter. Free school meals are clearly important now more than ever.

 The UK has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe. In 2018, around one in ten children aged four to five were classified as obese, and around one in five children, aged ten to eleven. Free school meals are so important as they help tackle child obesity. A recent study by Birgitta Rabe and Angus Holford at the Institute for Social and Economic Research found that the policy of free school meals to children ages 4-7 has greatly impacted children’s lives in a healthy way. This study looked at the BMI (body mass index) for children in 16,000 primary schools to see the impact of the nutritionally balanced, free school meals, which contain a maximum of 530 calories in comparison to the average lunch box in 2010 which contained 624 calories. They found that free school meals reduced reception children’s obesity rates by 7%. Although this may be considered a small impact it is still effective and over time will significantly reduce the child obesity problem we’re currently faced with.

 Another reason free school meals are so important is because they can help with academic achievement. Studies have shown that if children have a nutritional meal at lunch time they will focus better during the day and therefore their attainment will increase. After this research breakfast clubs and healthy eating sessions have started to make sure children are not going hungry throughout the school day. This is so important as students' attainment shouldn’t be affected by their wealth and if they are able to eat a healthy meal at lunchtime. They should not be disadvantaged by something they can not control, particularly when it comes to food.

 Due to the coronavirus school meals are now more important than ever, the pandemic has affected hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. Especially lower paid jobs and some families are relying on this job alone to support themselves. This is making it so much harder for them to put food on the table for their children. When schools closed in March it meant that many children were no longer gaining access to the free school meals. If a free school lunch is the only nutritional meal a student is having throughout the day, it is concerning that in lockdown they may not have been able to receive this. Although the government did provide food vouchers during the first lockdown there are worries that some families may have not received them. After the food vouchers were provided in lockdown the government claimed that they would no longer be offering them during the foreseeable holidays. However after Marcus Rashford’s campaign and petition which gained more than 1 million signatures the government have decided to extend the scheme for the Christmas holidays. The government now says it will give local authorities £170m to provide food in these holidays, while schools will continue to provide the meals in term time. The grant will also be spent on helping the most affected families with their bills.

 In light of this the government have also promised an extra £16 million for food banks and healthy start payments for pregnant women and those who have children under 4 and rely on a low income will increase from £3.10 to £4.25. Finally the holiday activities and food programme will run again in Easter, Summer and Christmas in 2021. Thanks to Marcus Rashford’s campaign and individual charities around the country, children will still be able to receive a healthy nutritious meal during the day.