Pupils report sharing food amid cost of living crisis

A new poll looking at school food provision and the cost of living crisis found that four in ten (37%) of children know someone at school who sometimes does not have enough food to eat.

Three in ten (28%) pupils report sharing food at least 2-3 times a month with hungry peers.  

The survey, conducted by Survation on behalf of the National Education Union (NEU)’s No Child Left Behind campaign, compared the experiences of 1,500 parents and 1,500 children (1,000 of each in England and 500 in London).

It examines at the experiences of families in London, one year on since Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the extension of Free School Meals to all children in London state primaries.

The survey found has found 52% of struggling parents/carers in England are cutting back on the food shop, 59% on energy and 36% on out-of-school activities for kids.

The picture is worse across England than in London. Since the start of this school year, only four in ten (41%) parents in London have had to cut back on the food shop, compared to more than five in ten (54%) across England. Indeed 78% of those based in London report family budgets easing somewhat or significantly due to Free School Meals for All.   

One in three (33%) parents/carers struggling with food costs report having less food or less healthy food in their children’s lunchbox.  

Providing free school meals for all year groups is widely popular, as 88% of parents/carers outside London state support for the UK Government to extend universal Free School Meals to all primary school children in England, with two thirds (66%) “strongly” supporting this change.  

The poll also found that the cost-of-living crisis is causing parents to cut back on a series of important nutritional items from the family food shop with knock-on impacts on children’s diet.   

Since the start of this school year, 45% of parents report cutting down on red meat, 38% fresh fruit and 32% fish. As 31% of parents reduce fresh vegetables in the family shop, only 4% of parents in England whose children mainly eat packed lunches report typically including vegetables in their children’s lunchbox.  

Campaigners are calling for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to commit to extending Free School Meals to the 4.6 million children in state primary schools in England – as London, Wales and Scotland have done.