"These healthy meals are ensuring children don't go hungry at school, making them ready to learn and giving them the energy to make the most of everything the school day offers, while also taking the financial pressure off their families. I know from personal experience what a difference these meals make, so to be able to ensure that hundreds of thousands of children are receiving them across London every single day brings huge personal pride."
"Kids in London are properly fuelled to learn, thanks to the Mayor. Serving 100 million free school meals is an amazing achievement. For families feeling the squeeze, easing financial pressure is priceless but free school meals deliver even more than that. When we feed kids well, the benefits are profound better attendance, better grades, better jobs and over 20 years that stacks up to an extra 40 billion back into the economy."
London's universal free meals scheme for state primary pupils has delivered 100 million lunches since its 2023 launch. Each child has received an average of 435 lunches, saving families up to £500 per child annually. The programme aims to prevent hunger at school, improve readiness to learn, and ease financial pressure on households. The mayor pledged to fund meals for children in Years 3–6 throughout his term. Schools report pupil involvement in menu choices and sustainability initiatives such as Meat‑Free Mondays, daily composting and using ingredients from school gardens. Initial project funding was described as temporary and paid for by one-off additional business rates income.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
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