Children's Nutrition Action Plan - The Food Commission

Tim Marsh
UK Public Health Association
Note: prior to his appointment with the UK Public Health Association, Tim Marsh worked for
Child Poverty Action Group on their School Meals Campaign. His presentation at the
Children’s Nutrition Action Plan meeting focused on that campaign.
One in three schoolchildren in the UK – around 2.8 million – currently live in poverty. Yet
only about 1.8 million children are entitled to a free school meal.
Who is entitled to free school meals?
• All children whose parents are in receipt of income support or income based Jobseeker’s
Allowance are entitled to free school meals
• 1.8 million children in the UK, of which 1.4 million children are in England (18%)
Of the 1.8 million children eligible for free school meals, around 300,000 (20 per cent), for a
variety of reasons, do not take up their entitlement. There are, therefore, around a million
children living in poverty who do not get a free school meal.
Every child, irrespective of income level, should have access to a satisfying and nutritious
meal during the school day. As this publication shows, many children are missing out on this
meal and many low-income families face financial difficulties to ensure their children eat a
proper lunch. Child Poverty Action Group believes it is unacceptable to put children and
families in this position and urges the Government to remedy this situation.
In March 1999, in response to both research showing that so many children were missing out
on a vital meal and to the Acheson report on health inequalities, Child Poverty Action Group
launched a campaign, ‘Free School Meals for children who need them’.
The Child Poverty Action Group School Meals campaign has three aims:
• The extension of entitlement to free school meals to all families receiving new tax credits
• The maximisation of the take up of free school meals
• The introduction of minimum nutritional standards for school meals and the development
of nutritional education in schools
In implementing policies to improve the take-up of free school meals, it is vital to tackle the
reasons why take-up remains low. Progressive policies, such as the establishment of
minimum nutritional standards for school meals, will be undermined if a third of a million of
the poorest children do not make it to the dinner queue.
Research shows that there are a number of reasons for the non-take-up of free school meals.
• Stigma
• Quality and choice of food on offer
• Environment
• Awareness of entitlement
In some areas, take-up is worse than others. In some London boroughs over one third of
schoolchildren miss out on a school meal to they are entitled. Secondary schools in the North
The Children’s Nutrition Action Plan, published by The Food Commission
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