A pre-election commitment from Labour promised that the “Child Health Action Plan will create the healthiest generation of children ever”. That cannot be criticised for lacking ambition and sits alongside equally ambitious manifesto commitments to end mass dependency on emergency food parcels and to tackle child poverty.
Though this ambition is needed, the challenge for the government is to drive through the policies that will make those ambitions a reality, particularly given the clear economic difficulties the country faces.
Ensuring more children are fed a good quality nutritious and hot meal at lunchtime would be a substantial step towards Labour fulfilling its promises, achieving its missions to break down barriers to opportunity, improving people’s health and securing economic growth.
Research shows that children who eat nutritious school meals have better health, better academic performance and behaviour, and improved lifetime earnings and productivity. To achieve this, there are three key areas to be addressed: every child should have access to school meals; the food provided must be nutritious, delicious and sustainable; and the funding must be fair and transparent.
The economic benefits of expanded free school meal provision are clear to see. Research by PwC has shown that expanding free school meal provision to all children whose households are in receipt of Universal Credit alone would inject £8.9 billion in core benefits to the UK economy. Making school meals available to all would inject a massive £41.3 billion into the economy with £1.71 returned for every £1 invested. These are findings which disprove the old adage that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
We know that free school meal expansion is popular too. As the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz made it compulsory for all public schools in his state to provide both free breakfast and lunch to all children, regardless of income. It’s a policy which boosted his popularity on his rise to national prominence as the Democratic Party’s nominee to be the Vice President of the United States.
Universal free school meals has been introduced in primary schools by the Labour government in Wales and by Mayor Sadiq Khan across London. Unfortunately, that same level of support is not available to other children across England.
The Labour government in Westminster claims its plans for universal free breakfast clubs will ease child poverty. The reality is that this will simply not be enough to meet the scale of widespread food poverty that the government has inherited.
The Food Foundation’s data shows that 18 per cent of households with children were experiencing food insecurity this June, seriously hindering many children’s health and development. The UK now has shorter children compared to peers in other rich Western European countries, with growing rates of childhood obesity, malnutrition and type 2 diabetes in young people.
The sheer scale of the problem means that if Labour is to meet its stated ambition for the healthiest generation of children ever, they must ensure as many children as possible receive a genuinely nutritious meal during the school day.
There are many examples of fantastic school food, but we cannot continue in a situation where too many children are fed food of frankly shameful quality. The low standard is not surprising however, given that school food standards lack a nationwide system of enforcement to support compliance. The Labour government has an opportunity to break with Dickensian ideas of feeding our children subpar food on the lowest budget possible – a false economy which does not deliver value for money in terms of health or educational outcomes. Being ambitious for our children’s health must mean being ambitious for the quality our children’s food.
To achieve this however, Labour will have to ensure that funding is fair, keeping pace with food inflation. The evidence shows it’s an investment worth making to support children’s health and ability to learn. A study in Sweden showed that children who received a nutritious free school meal as part of a universal programme also saw a notable income boost in adulthood. Not only that, but the boost was more pronounced among children from deprived backgrounds.
So, if Labour wants to stay true to the promises that swept it to victory in July, they need to ensure that no matter where they are in the country, children are properly fed. In twenty-first-century Britain, that should not be a radical ask.
The School Food Review is a coalition of organisations spanning charities, educational organisations, caterers, unions and academics, committed to working together to improve children’s health by reforming the school food system.
They will be holding a panel event in partnership with the New Statesman at Labour Party Conference 2024, Nourishing the Next Generation: How can school food can deliver on Labour’s missions for government?
This session will take place on Monday 23rd September at 17:30 in room 11B at the ACC Liverpool, King’s Dock, Liverpool Waterfront, L3 4FP.
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