Children so hungry they’re ‘consuming rubbers’ as a result of lack of free faculty meals
Children are so hungry they are eating rubbers or pretending to eat from empty lunchboxes because they don’t qualify for free school meals, MPs have heard.
The scourge of child hunger in schools was laid bare during a Commons debate, where MPs heard how some pupils are hiding in the playground because they don’t want their friends to know they have no lunch. Lib Dem education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: “A child pretending to eat out of an empty lunchbox because they did not qualify for free school meals and did not want their friends to know there was no food at home.
“A child coming in to school having not eaten anything since lunch the day before, so hungry they are eating rubbers in school. A child hiding in the playground because they don’t think they can get a meal. This has to stop.”
Ms Wilson told MPs that free lunches can be “life changing” as it helps children eat healthily, improves their concentration in class and saves their parents money. But needy children are missing out on free lunches due to strict eligibility rules.
State school pupils in England can claim free school meals up to the end of Year 2. After that, they are eligible only if their parent or carer receives certain benefits. Households on Universal Credit only qualify if their income is less than just £7,400 from work. An estimated 900,000 school age children who live in poverty miss out due to strict eligibility rules, according to the Child Poverty Action Group.
Ms Wilson took aim at critics who say parents need to take more responsibility, saying: “That is an insult to every parent who can’t afford to feed their child.” She described meeting a mum in her constituency, who had fled her abusive partner, who was skipping her mental health medication so she could save the cash for her prescription to pay for her daughter’s lunch.
Why every child deserves a free school meal
The country’s children should not be the victims of the cost of living crisis.
They should not have to pay the price because their parents cannot afford to put food on the table or heat the family home.
But at the moment there are nearly four million children living in poverty. Many of them are being brought up in homes where there is not enough money to pay for a hot meal. Some are having to skip meals entirely.
That is why the Mirror is calling on the government to provide free school meals for every primary pupil in England.
The Scottish and Welsh governments are introducing universal free school meals. It’s time England did the same.
If a child is hungry they cannot learn. It makes it harder for them to concentrate in class and harder for them to reach their potential.
Free school meals for all primary-age children would save parents vital pennies – money which could be used to pay for warm clothes, school activities or heating.
It would reduce the bureaucracy attached with deciding which pupils are eligible. Most importantly, it would mean every child have the chance to flourish.
You can find out more about our Free School Meals for All campaign here
“That is a mother taking the responsibility to feed her child seriously and she is paying the price with her health and wellbeing. I’m afraid the Conservative Government is forcing parents to make impossible choices such as these.”
She added: “That a free school meal may be the only hot meal a child eats in a day in this country is a scandal. In a country such as England families are struggling with this basic human need and that is appalling. The Government should hang its head in shame.”
Ms Wilson said teachers are having to “act as the fourth emergency service” by stepping in the help hard-up families. She added: “No child should go hungry at school. Liberal Democrats would extend free school meals, beginning with every child in poverty, to save parents money, encourage healthy eating and give children the energy to learn. It’s a no brainer.”
Labour MP Beth Winter said it was “time for England to catch up” with Wales, where universal free school meals are being rolled out to all primary school pupils. “We can afford it. We are the fifth richest nation in the world,” she said. “We’ve got to start getting out priorities right in this country.”
Shadow Schools Minister Cat McKinnell said the impact of the cost of living crisis on hard-pressed families and schools is a “national scandal”. Around 2 million pupils are eligible for free school meals in England, which she said was a sign of “appalling economic failure”.
She said Labour’s plan to fund free breakfast clubs in every primary school was a first step to helping children out of poverty and closing the attainment gap. “It will put money back in parents pockets and allow parents to have greater flexibility at work so they can earn more for their families,” she said.
The party has not backed calls to extend free school meals provision. Ms McKinnell said Labour wants to focus on “more targeted measures” during the current economic climate, such as breakfast clubs.
Schools Minister Damian Hinds said he was proud the Government had extended free school meals eligibility more than any other. “We spend over £1billion per annum delivering free school lunches to the greatest ever proportion of school children – over a third,” he said.
