Category: Social policy

According to January 2024 data, 2.1 million children in England were eligible for means-tested free school meals, with millions more receiving universal infant provision. This article breaks down exactly how many people in the UK are on free school meals, outlining the varying eligibility rules across the four nations and detailing recent policy changes affecting families.

Millions of children across the UK are supported by free school meals, but the exact number and eligibility criteria vary significantly by nation. Recent government data and policy changes in 2024 and 2025 highlight a complex and evolving landscape of provision, driven by factors such as the cost of living crisis.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global food security relies on all people having physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times. This definition is fundamentally tied to the concept of **what is the basic food basket**, a key metric used to assess whether this access is truly possible for a given population.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly half of all deaths among children under five years of age are linked to undernutrition, with these tragedies mostly occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Social assistance programs, which include various forms of social safety nets, are proving to be one of the most effective tools in addressing this persistent global health crisis.

Following the signing of the National School Lunch Act in 1946, a federally assisted meal program was established to provide nutritious and low-cost or free lunches to children across the nation. While this law expanded access, the notion that all school lunches were free in the 1950s is a common misconception.