UK free school meal allowances too low for healthy lunches, study finds

The researchers say schools should have to include two portions of vegetables with every meal. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Free school meal allowances are not enough for students from lower-income backgrounds to buy healthy school lunches, research suggests.

The study, presented at the European Congress of Obesity (ECO), involved 42 pupils aged between 11 and 15 at seven schools across the UK.