Expanding free school meals to all children in families receiving universal credit would provide a huge boost to the food supply chain as well as rescue thousands from food poverty, campaigners claimed today.
New research conducted by accountants PwC on behalf of Impact on Urban Health claimed the move could inject up to £41.3bn into the economy, at a time when companies are facing huge supply chain pressures.
The research was commissioned to coincide with today’s launch of a major new drive by the Food Foundation, backed by celebrities including Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Feed the Future calls on Liz Truss to extend free school meals to the 800,000 children in England who live in households on universal credit but are ineligible because their household income, excluding benefits, exceeds £7,400 a year.
The Food Foundation claims for every £1 invested, £1.38 would be returned through social, health and educational benefits, resulting in £8.9bn in core benefits. But it claims a further £16.3bn of indirect benefits could come through wider economic and supply chain gains, such as growing the school food economy through expansion of school catering employment opportunities, resulting in £25.2bn total potential benefits.
The Food Foundation also today released a new survey showing the huge support for extending free school meals among the general public, with figures showing 72% of the English public support the expansion of free school meals to all children whose families receive the benefit.
“At a time when the government is looking for ways to drive growth, this ground-breaking research shows that investing in expanding free school meals is a cost-effective way to drive economic growth and create a healthier society,” said Kieron Boyle, CEO of Impact on Urban Health.
Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, added: “The cost of living crisis is having an awful impact on children, with many going hungry and not getting the nutrition they need to grow up healthily.
“This is being seen by people across the country, and our findings released today clearly demonstrate that the public believe the government needs to do more to help these children. We strongly urge the government to listen and urgently act to ensure our children in need are guaranteed at least one nutritious meal a day at school.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Jamie Oliver said: “If you earn over £7,400, you won’t get that free school lunch. But I think we’d all agree that there’s a massive gap between the means test for free school lunches as it stands and universal credit.
“The reality is, if you speak to the best minds in economics, in the country, in the world, they will tell you that if you output healthier kids, you’re going to have a more productive, more profitable country, better GDP.”
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