“When we have lunch, it makes us stronger, healthier, and we can concentrate more on our learning.” – Year 4 pupil
In 2023, London achieved a milestone in school food policy, extending free school meals to every primary-aged child in state-funded schools. This groundbreaking initiative, supported by £130 million in emergency funding from Mayor Sadiq Khan, aimed to ease financial pressure on families during the cost-of-living crisis. While the policy’s economic benefits were clear, its broader impacts on health, wellbeing, and school engagement have now been independently evaluated.
Today, a new report was launched by Impact on Urban Health that offers an in-depth analysis of the policy’s first-year outcomes. It highlights significant benefits for families across the income spectrum, with those on lower incomes seeing the greatest impact. Improvements were observed in family finances, children’s health and wellbeing, and their overall experience with school. The evaluation also identifies key factors influencing the policy’s success, such as proactive borough-level support, alongside challenges like funding constraints, and underscores the need for additional measures to ensure equitable access to school meals and their ability to meet all children’s needs.
“School lunches were a massive issue, financially and physically. Knowing my child will get some form of meal is a relief to me and takes away the stress.” – Parent
Importantly, the findings are accompanied by 7 recommendations for national policymakers, aiming to inform future initiatives and optimise the benefits of universal free school meals. The recommendations include:
- Urgently extend access to free school meals and work towards a universal approach to school food
- Introduce nationally coordinated auto-enrolment for free school meals
- Increase per meal funding rate and make funding allocations simpler
- Wipe out dinner money debt
- Ensure there is sufficient capital investment in school kitchen and dining infrastructure
- Introduce a national School Food Quality Assurance Scheme (and update the School Food Standards)
- Train and support school leaders, caterers and business managers to deliver great school food
Myles Bremner and Abigail Page from Bremner & Co were honoured to work alongside CPAG, ICF, Reconnect London and Public Health Nutrition Research on this pivotal study. Bremner & Co were commissioned by Impact on Urban Health (IOUH) to lead the development of a Theory of Change which underpinned evaluation design and informed policy implementation. They also supported co-ordination across IOUH commissioned and wider evaluation projects and provided technical and subject matter expertise for evaluation design and delivery. We look forward to seeing how these findings can strengthen the case for expanding free school meal access nationwide.
“Being part of this research has been an incredible opportunity. This report not only highlights the real difference universal free school meals are making for families in London but also provides invaluable insights to help shape the future of school food policy across the country.” – Myles Bremner
Read the full report below.