There are 800,000 children in England who are currently living in poverty and yet they do not qualify for free school meals.
Around 210,000 pupils in London live in households who rely on universal credit, but are ineligible for a hot, nutritious meal at school, due to their parents earning more than the threshold of £7,400 (excluding benefits) a year.
The data was released by the Feed the Future campaign, which urges the government to act in fixing this.
They said: “Expanding eligibility to all children in households on Universal Credit would be an effective way to support families struggling with a huge rise in the cost of living.
“This extension to eligibility is an urgent first step towards a long-term goal for the government to provide universal, comprehensively funded, nutritious school food for all children.”
Children who would be able to get a free meal in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are unable to do so in England, even if their households have the same income.
Feed the Future said in their release: “It isn’t fair that 800,000 kids living in poverty don’t get free school meals, just because they live in England. Tell your MP to stop this postcode lottery.”
The campaign has drafted a message you can email your local MP.
The more politicians hear from the people they represent, the more likely they are to act to #FeedtheFuture
