Free school meals aren’t just a lifeline for children – but for schools, too

Feed the future: Schools really struggle with the fact that kids go hungry. So, they often take the hit. They absorb the costs. They stretch. Simply, there isn’t enough money in the system

If we extend free school meals, that money goes straight to our schools and our heroic school caterers (PA)

Extending free school meals is good for kids, good for schools and good for our growth agenda. I want to explain why – by updating the story of Carshalton Boys Sports College, the poster boy school we used when government published the School Food Plan, 10 years ago.

Dave Holdsworth, head chef at Carshalton, will get to work on Monday and start the unenviable task of feeding 1,500 teenage boys and 200 sixth-formers. In his review of Carshalton, Giles Coren called Dave the “huge, scary head chef”, but the food, he couldn’t fault: “It wouldn’t disgrace a high-street brasserie.” The food is good here.

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