On Wednesday 4th June 2025 the Government announced the expansion of free school meals to all families in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This means 500,000 more children will be entitled to a meal every school day. This is a huge step forward in tackling child food poverty and ensuring children have the food they need to thrive at school.

Currently, households in England on Universal Credit must earn below £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals.

This announcement is more than policy; it’s progress that many have long called for. And for the young people at the heart of Bite Back, who’ve spent years speaking out about this injustice, it’s personal — and worth celebrating.

OUR HISTORY OF CAMPAIGNING FOR FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Bite Back has been campaigning for fairer access to free school meals since day one.

In 2020 we had our first campaign win when campaigner Christina Adane called on then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to extend free school meals support through the school holidays. Christina’s petition received over 430,000 signatures and after much resistance, the Government eventually agreed to extend free school meals provision through the school holidays until the end of 2021 — supporting the families of 1.4 million children.

In 2022, we turned our attention to the eligibility gap — hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty, but unable to access a free school meal. Christina launched a second petition.

Bite Back campaigner Timi spoke out publicly, and his message to the Government was clear: Don’t Starve Britain’s Young People of a Chance at a Healthy Future.

As the campaign gained momentum, we amassed backing from our network of young activists and high-profile supporters like our founder Jamie Oliver, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, cook and writer Thomasina Miers, and several other key partners including the Food Foundation and School Food Matters.

That same year in October, we released our revealing film featuring Bite Back campaigners and their real experiences of free school meals. The video reached over 1 million people and resulted in over 250,000 people signing our petition.

When the then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt made no commitment to expand free school meals in the 2022 Autumn Statement, we decided to turn up the heat. We kicked off 2023 with a huge moment in Westminster.

Joined by 30 other Bite Back campaigners, Timi, Mollie, Yumna and Amy handed in our petition to 10 Downing Street — and we made a lot of noise in the process! With posters across Westminster Tube station and chants ringing through Parliament Square, young people made it clear: they wouldn’t be ignored. It was an unforgettable moment.

The following month London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced universal free school meals for primary school children in London — a win at city level, but one that highlighted just how urgently national action was still needed (this was extended further in 2024). While we celebrated the news, there were still hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty, with no access to free school meals across the rest of England.

A MOMENT FOR CELEBRATION

Now, five years since that first campaign win, the national government has listened.

Bite Back campaigner, Yusuf, was euphoric upon hearing the news:

“This is honestly massive. I’m so thrilled — and I know every young campaigner who’s been speaking out about school food will be buzzing too,” he said.

“Just a few weeks ago, I met with Stephen Morgan, the Minister for Early Education, alongside my fellow activist Carrera, to talk about exactly this — how unfair the current system is and how many kids are missing out. Now the Government’s actually listened. That’s a huge step in the right direction.

“Of course, there’s more to do. This is progress — and we’re excited to keep going. Every child deserves meals that help them learn, grow and thrive, and we’ll keep pushing until that’s a reality for everyone.”

STILL TO DO

Wrapped into this announcement is something big: a promise to act quickly to update the School Food Standards. While we are overjoyed to know that free school meals will be available to children who need them most, the Government also has a responsibility to ensure those meals fuel the health, learning and future of every child — but research shows too many school meals are poor quality, and that must change.

While welcoming the new entitlement, Nicki Whiteman, interim CEO of Bite Back, said:

“This is a huge day for the movement to fix school food — and a massive win for the young people who’ve been fighting for it. This announcement ticks two of the three big objectives we set out right at Bite Back’s founding: expanding access to Free School Meals and raising the quality of school food.

We congratulate the Government on taking bold and long-overdue action — where others have hesitated, they’ve stepped up to do what’s right for children and families. But we’re not putting our feet up just yet. If we’re serious about making this count, we need to talk about what’s actually on the plate. Right now, too many catering companies are delivering food that falls short of the standards our children deserve — with little accountability.

Expanding eligibility is huge. But raising quality is the next battle. And Bite Back will keep pushing to make sure every child, in every school, gets the good food they need to thrive.”