Free School Meals for All

NIAPN joined the Derry Trades Union Council at the “International School Meals Day” rally campaining for the expansion of free school meal provision. Samantha Bronze, Branch secretary of UNISON’s Derry Education Branch gave the following speech:

Friends, colleagues, parents and supporters,

My name is Samantha Bronze, I am Branch secretary of UNISONs Derry Education Branch and UNISONs joint regional convenor.

Today we gather before International School Meals Day to celebrate something simple but powerful — the importance of a healthy school meal for every child. School meals are not a luxury, they are not a privilege, they are a basic support that helps children learn, grow and thrive.

Here in Northern Ireland, more than 210,000 school meals are served every single day in our schools.

For many children, that school dinner is the most reliable hot meal they will get all day, but right now families across our communities are facing enormous pressure from the cost-of-living crisis.

Food prices are rising – Energy bills are rising – Housing costs are rising.

And now, families are also facing an increase in the cost of school meals.

From January, the Education Authority increased the price of a school meal by 50p — taking it from £2.60 to £3.10 for primary schools and a 19% increase for post primary schools.

For a family with two or three children, that increase quickly adds up to hundreds of pounds a year and that matters — because in Northern Ireland around 90,000 pupils rely on free school meals, and many more families sit just above the £15,390 a year threshold and receive no help at all. These are the families who are squeezed the hardest.

When school meals become more expensive, something worrying happens, children stop taking them.

In fact, the latest data shows that only about 59.5% of pupils take a school meal, meaning around 4 in 10 children bring alternatives or go without a school dinner.

That fall in uptake doesn’t just affect families: It affects school kitchens. It affects catering services. And it affects the dedicated catering staff who work every day to feed our children.

When numbers fall, the pressure lands on those workers — the staff who prepare meals, serve children, and keep our school kitchens running.

That is why UNISON is campaigning for Universal Free School Meals, because universal provision works.

When school meals are free for every child: No child is singled out. No parent has to struggle to pay. And uptake rises across the board.

Universal school meals remove stigma, they support family finances, they protect catering jobs and most importantly — they ensure every child gets a nutritious meal in the middle of the school day.

From July 2020 until March 2023, families of 90,000 children eligible for free school meals received £27 per child each fortnight during school holidays. The school holiday food grant was to help low-income families with the cost of feeding children when they were not in school. The payments were made over the summer, Easter, Christmas and half-term school breaks but they were cut by the Department of Education (DE) in March 2023 due to lack of money.

The answer to this challenge cannot be to push costs onto families at a time when families are struggling. The solution is clear: the answer is Universal Free School Meals!

Because investing in school meals is investing in children’s futures. It means better health. Better learning. And Better opportunities.

So today, we send a message loud and clear: No child should go hungry in school. No parent should worry about affording lunch. And no catering worker should see their job threatened because families can’t afford the cost.

Universal Free School Meals are fair, they support families, they support workers and they are long overdue.

So together with UNISON, we will keep campaigning, keep organising and keep raising our voices until every child in every school gets the meal they deserve.

Thank you.

Find out more about and get involved with UNISON’s Free School Meal campaign.