Parents in York back calls for free school meals project to be rolled out across England
Campaigners say food should be provided to all pupils
The majority of parents and carers want the Government to extend free school meals to all children in primary state schools in England, a survey has found.
Only a quarter (26%) of parents and carers in England said they have not had to cut back on family expenses since the start of the school year, according to a poll commissioned by the National Education Union (NEU).
Among those parents and carers who reported having to make cutbacks, or who said they were struggling financially, more than half (52%) said they had cut back on the food shop since September.
The survey, carried out online by Survation between January and February, found that one in three (33%) parents and carers struggling with food costs reported having less food or less healthy food in their children's lunchbox.
The poll, of 1,500 parents and carers with children in primary school, suggests that 41% parents in London have had to cut back on the food shop since the start of this school year, compared to 54% across England.
The findings come after free school meals were extended to every primary school pupil at Westfield Primary in York as part of pilot project to help struggling families amid the cost-of-living crisis.
"He just loves it and I think us parents are enjoying it as well"
Jessica Stone's son goes there and says it's been brilliant: "From a parent's point of view it's easier and quicker in the morning because you don't have to think, oh I need to make him a pack up, or what have got in to give him a pack and even on a night even to give him a snacky tea."
"Sometimes it's easier when you know you are going out on the night just to be able to give him a sandwich or crackers on a night because you know he has had that healthy, hot dinner at lunch. He loves it and I think us as parents are enjoying it as well."
She says it should be rolled out across the Country: "Everybody would benefit from it, from the children to the parents to even the teachers because I bet even the teachers at the moment are getting a lot more from the children than they were previously."
All children at state schools in England are entitled to free school lunches in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
But Year 3-6 pupils are not entitled to free school meals in primary schools - unless they are from households in receipt of eligible benefits.
The poll, from the NEU's No Child Left Behind campaign, found 88% of parents and carers outside London want the Government to extend free school meals to all primary school children in England.
The research, which also surveyed 1,500 primary school aged children, suggests that 37% of children reported knowing someone at school who sometimes does not have enough food to eat at lunch.
More than one in four (28%) pupils reported sharing food at least two to three times a month with peers because they did not have money to eat enough.
Ahead of the Spring Budget, campaigners are calling on the Government to commit to free school meals for all pupils in state primary schools in England.
Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "No matter what's happening in the country, or the economy, children's health is paramount.
"This poll supports what our College has been warning about for some time: the cost-of-living crisis is driving a decline in health and nutrition in children. As doctors, we call on the Government to urgently review their position."