Free school meals should be given to every child, regardless of background, while the cost of living crisis persists, Rochdale Council has urged. A motion urging the government to ‘ensure universal provision for all school age groups’ was unanimously backed at a meeting on Wednesday night.
Moved by Labour’s Coun Rachel Massey, it noted that one in three school-age children living in poverty were already missing out on free school meals because of the ‘restrictive eligibility criteria’ - and many more were now struggling. “No child should go hungry while in school, we know that there are increasing numbers of struggling families that don’t qualify for free school meals,” Coun Massey told the meeting. “School meals are not an optional extra, they are absolutely essential to ensure that our most vulnerable are fed, healthy, cared for and thriving.”
In Rochdale, 29pc of children live in relative low-income families, according to the latest figures - the fifth highest rate in the north west.
