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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Sally Weale, Richard Adams and Patrick Butler

Teachers reveal scale of pupils’ hunger as 100,000 frozen out of free school meals

Young students running up stairs at the school
Young students running up stairs at the school Photograph: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

Children not eligible for free school meals are coming to school with mouldy bread, empty wraps and in some cases nothing at all, according to teachers who told the Guardian they had never seen such desperation in the communities they serve.

The harrowing accounts of widespread hunger in classrooms come as analysis by the Liberal Democrats found more than 100,000 children in England may be missing out on free school meals (FSM) at a time when costs have soared.

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