The government has been urged to expand eligibility for free school meals to all children whose parents get Universal Credit.

According to a new poll, the rising cost of food is threatening the quality of school lunches for almost 1.8 million pupils.

Since May 2022, according to LACA, food prices have increased by 30%, resulting in 28% of school caterers using more processed foods.

Additionally, more than a third of its members are contemplating moving from British to foreign meat.

After the autumn half-term break, Dersingham School in Newham, one of London’s most impoverished districts, will introduce a new menu.

Michael Hales, the managing director of Juniper Ventures, which supplies catering at Dersingham, adds, “We’re quite proud that all of the meat we use in school meals is sourced from the United Kingdom, but we may need to rethink this in the future.”

“Also, we’re currently making everything from scratch, but we’ll have to include processed ingredients in our sauces in the future,” he told.

The price of food has skyrocketed this year, with certain things increasing by 50 percent. It is quite difficult to provide daily lunches that comply with the school food criteria.”

You cannot teach hungry youngsters.

Lando Du Plooy, the principal of Dersingham, noted that bad diets result in poor academic performance.

“You can’t teach youngsters while they’re hungry; it does not affect their teaching and learning,” he told.

“If the impact cascades and reaches the children, and we then begin producing unhealthy fast food and low-quality meals for children, it creates the entire issue surrounding the obesity problem we’re trying to solve, the problem of unhealthy meals and unhealthy habits that they lead to later in life.”

Brad Pearce, chairman of LACA, has asked the government for assistance.

“Without an increase in financing for school meals, the most vulnerable children in our society will likely go without their only hot, nutritious meal of the day,” he stated.

“We are also pressing the government to strengthen the eligibility criteria for FSM (free school meals) to ensure that no kid goes without a school lunch.

“A hungry youngster cannot study, but this could soon become a reality for far too many children.”

What is the government’s position?

A representative for the administration stated, “We have increased access to free school meals more than any other government in recent decades. Currently, 1,9 million students are eligible for these meals.”

“We are also providing schools with $53.8 billion in core funding this year and a £4 billion boost in total funding beginning in 2021-22.

“The chancellor has presented a new growth plan, taking bold action to help homes and businesses get through this winter and the next by expanding the economy to enhance everyone’s living standards.”