Free school meals - it's an unfair postcode lottery!

[barbsinlondon]

So the Mayor of London is paying for all primary children in London to have free school meals this year. In Scotland and Wales it's already happening too. But for everyone else it's still this £7400 income threshold for eligibility, and it hasn't changed since 2018.

It's really unfair to have this postcode lottery now for whether kids get lunch at school. India, Brazil, Finland, Estonia, Sweden and now 8 US states just provide it for every pupil just like books, desks and sports equipment in school!

All the political parties are having their conferences this month - the Children's Food Campaign are asking everyone to email their MP, to ask them what they're doing to end the postcode lottery and to write to Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary. I've written to my MP, hope lots of others will do too! https://www.sustainweb.org/news/sep23-end-the-school-food-postcode-lottery/

rather like h University fees vary depending where you live in the UK, or costs of prescriptions or hospital parking.

All infants get FSMs so it's only juniors who don't. The amount of money the MOL squeezes out Londoners is the least he could do

I would rather children eligible for FSM are given a better allowance rather then everyone given a free meal when they can afford it.

Also the meals at DS' school are mandatory for infant years, he's never eaten so much junk in his life cheap burgers, fish fingers, chips at least twice a week, cake, jelly, biscuits, it's like the 1980s.

I don't agree with every household being eligible but I would support the threshold being increased.