For families facing rising household costs, school lunches are a significant annual expense. From September 2026, changes to free school meal eligibility in England could give more parents a way to reduce that cost, with government funding based on £2.66 per meal across 190 school days, equivalent to £505 per eligible pupil.
That does not mean every family will save exactly £505. The actual saving depends on the price of school meals at the child's school, how often the child takes a meal and how many school days they attend.
