Over half a million more children will benefit from a free nutritious meal every school day, as the government puts GBP500 back into parents' pockets every year by expanding eligibility for free school meals.
From the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to free school meals. This will make life easier and more affordable for parents who struggle the most, delivering on the government's Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity and give children the best start in life.
The unprecedented expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty. Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes - meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than GBP7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty have been unable to access free school meals.
The government's historic new expansion to those on Universal Credit will change this and comes ahead of the Child Poverty Taskforce publishing its ten-year strategy to drive sustainable change later this year. It comes on top of targeted support for families being hit the hardest with the cost-of-living crisis, with urgent action including raising the national minimum wage, uprating benefits and supporting 700,000 families through the Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures.
My government is taking action to ease those pressures. Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents' pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.
This expansion is a truly historic moment for our country, helping families who need it most and delivering our Plan for Change to give every child, no matter their background, the same chance to succeed.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
It is the moral mission of this government to tackle the stain of child poverty, and today this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents' pockets.
From free school meals to free breakfast clubs, breaking the cycle of child poverty is at the heart of our Plan for Change to cut the unfair link between background and success.
We believe that background shouldn't mean destiny. Today's historic step will help us to deliver excellence everywhere, for every child and give more young people the chance to get on in life.
The Government is also offering more than GBP13 million in funding to 12 food charities across England to redistribute thousands of tonnes of fresh produce directly from farms to fight food poverty in communities.
The Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme is helping farms and organisations to work collaboratively to ensure edible food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the plates of those who need it, including schoolchildren.
Source: Gov.uk