Henry Dimbleby: We have children breaking down and crying because of hunger

Feed the Future: I’ve been calling for a change to the entitlement threshold for free school meals since 2013. It is unconscionable that this situation has not yet been addressed

“We have children breaking down and crying because of hunger.” This awful testimony comes from the headteacher of a multi-academy trust I spoke to recently. It’s just one example of the realities of a child hunger crisis that schools up and down the country are witnessing every day.

The headteacher, Dr Nick Capstick, told me: “Just over half our pupils do not get free school meals but would be defined as living in poverty. Many arrive at school hungry and, as the day progresses, they become distracted and unable to concentrate because they think only of food.

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“These children typically bring in lunch boxes, but what’s inside is wholly inadequate. The impacts are deep. It’s hard to perform academically or do physical exercise when you are hungry.”

I’ve been calling for a change to the entitlement threshold for free school meals since 2013, when I wrote a report called The School Food Plan. It reported that nearly 700,000 children in England were struggling with hunger and its knock-on effects because they were deemed insufficiently poor to get free school meals.

#FeedTheFuture calls for the government to act now ( )

What this meant then – and still means now – is that they came from households with a combined income of more £7,400 (before benefits). Some of these children’s parents were having to get by on just £10 a day, after rent.

In my next report for the government, last year’s National Food Strategy, I called again for the threshold to be raised. Now, another year on, the situation is even more dire.

Today, upwards of 800,000 children who live in poverty are being denied access to the free school meal system and are therefore at risk of missing out on a hot, nutritious and filling free school meal every day. At best, schools are stepping in to feed children from their education budgets. At worst, children are slipping through the net of support altogether.

Hungry children cannot learn and cannot thrive. It is unconscionable in 2022 that this situation has not yet been addressed.

The unfairness is compounded by the knowledge that the free school meals threshold in Northern Ireland is nearly double that of England, ensuring far more Northern Irish children are able to go to school every day and participate fully in their own learning, not having to worry about what they’re going to eat (or not eat) for lunch.

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While the moral case for expanding free school meal entitlement is self-evident, the economic case should not be overlooked.

Investment in free school meal provision is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. According to recent research by PwC, if free school meal entitlement was extended to all those in receipt of universal credit, the country would receive an estimated £1.38 return for every £1 invested, over 20 years, thanks largely to reduced health spending and increased productivity.

That is why a number of food charities, organisations, national publications and public figures have come together to launch the #FeedTheFuture campaign. The campaign calls for the government to act now and increase the threshold for free school meal entitlement.

It is long, long overdue and, with the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, being clear that the government must support the most vulnerable, there is no better time than now to implement the change.

Henry Dimbleby MBE is the co-founder of Leon Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association