Dear Prime Minister,
Child hunger is an epidemic in our schools.
Last year, over 4 million children experienced food insecurity - not having access to nutritious and balanced meals, or even having to skip meals entirely.
We are writing to urge you to extend Free School Meal provision to every primary school child in England.
We are living through the greatest cost of living crisis in a generation, and too many families with young children are being pulled into poverty.
Free school meals for every child will put money back in parents’ pockets. That’s money they can use to pay for other essentials for their children, from heating and food at home to hobbies and after-school clubs.
Teachers and support staff see the difference a healthy school dinner makes. When children are hungry, they can’t learn. It’s hard for them to concentrate and harder for them to reach their potential. Free School Meals for all would mean every child can learn and succeed.
For the first three years of school, every child in England gets a hot dinner – and no child under seven wants for food while they're at school.
But from Year 3 on, millions of children as young as 7 miss out on a healthy meal at school.
In 2020, Scotland pledged to extend Free School Meals for every child in primary education. In 2021, Wales said they’ll do the same. It is time for England to catch up.
Providing a Free School Meal for every child in primary school will ensure all children can flourish and no child is left behind.
Prime Minister, will you commit to extending Free School Meals to every child in primary school?
Yours Sincerely,
Adwoa Aboah
Model
James Acaster
Comedian
India Amarteifio
Actor
Hayley Atwell
Actor
Ray BLK
Musician
Olivia Colman
Actor
Brian Cox
Actor
Joy Crookes
Musician
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Actor
Neil Gaiman
Author
Amy Hart
Media Personality
Konnie Huq
Presenter
Nadiya Hussain
Chef
Armando Iannucci
Writer
Tom Kerridge
Chef
Dua Lipa
Musician
Gary Lineker
Presenter
Thomasina Miers
Chef
Yotam Ottolenghi
Chef
Will Poulter
Actor
Shivi Ramoutar
Chef
Charlotte Ritchie
Actor
Ed Sheeran
Musician
Juliet Stevenson
Actor
Rakhee Thakrar
Actor
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Actor
Harriet Walter
Actor
Jessie Ware
Musician
Kate Winslet
Actor
Jason Beattie, Assistant Editor
The Mirror
Matthew McGregor, CEO
38 Degrees
Katherine Hill, Strategic Project Manager
4in10 London's Child Poverty Network
Sandra Beeton, CEO
AOPM - Communities for Youth Justice
Jonathan Pauling, CEO
Alexandra Rose Charity
Dr Cath Lowther, General Secretary
Association of Educational Psychologists
Zita Holbourne, National Co-Chair
Artists’ Union of England
Sarah Woolley, Secretary
BFAWU
Lynne Goodacre, Coordinator
Blackburn with Darwen Food Alliance
Alex Colas, Professor of International Relations,
Birkbeck, University of London
Brent Right to Food
Samayya Afzal, Policy and Public Affairs Coordinator
British Youth Council
Joseph Howes, Chief Executive
Buttle UK
Tim Lang, Professor Emeritus of Food Policy
Centre for Food Policy, City University of London
Dame Alison Peacock, CEO
Chartered College of Teaching
Kate Anstey, Project Lead
Child Poverty Action Group
Kathy Evans, CEO
Children England
Leigh Elliott, CEO
Children North East
Jacobo Belilty, Coordinator
Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK
Fabiola Maguiña Cortez, Comunidad
Comunidad UK
Dr. Carol Homden, CEO
Coram Group
Flora Richards, Teacher
Croxley Danes School
Maureen Holcroft, CEO
Daffodils Dreams
Anne Keenan, Assistant Secretary (Education and Equality)
Educational Institute of Scotland
Joseph Howes, Chair
End Child Poverty Coalition
Simon Francis, Coordinator
End Fuel Poverty Coalition
Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South
Enough is Enough
Mary Olanrewaju, CEO
Equal Education Chances
Riana Brown, Group Communications Manager
Daughters of Charity Services
Alex Merron, Organiser
Devon Transformed
Coral Jones, Chair
Doctors in Unite
Gina Cicerone, CEO
Fair Education Alliance
Naomi Maynard, Good Food Programme Director
Feeding Liverpool
Mary McGrath, CEO
FoodCycle
Victoria Williams, Director
Food Matters
Louise Davies, Founder
Food Teachers Centre
Ruth London, Director
Fuel Poverty Action
Victoria Williams, Programme Manager
Charlotte McGill, Programme Manager
Future First
Gawain Little, General Secretary
General Federation of Trade Unions
Darren Knight, Chief Executive
George House Trust
Victoria Benson, CEO
Gingerbread
Gary Smith, General Secretary
GMB Union
Revd. Ian Rutherford, Chair
Greater Manchester Food Security Action Network
Graham Whitham, CEO
Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA)
Libby Fry, Secretary
Hackney South and Shoreditch CLP Women’s Branch
Matt Perry, Headteacher
Halifax Academy
Paul Donaldson, General Secretary
HCSA - the Hospital Doctors Union
Katherine Vesey, Executive Director
Heart4Refugees
Sajid Mohammed, CEO
Himmah Food Bank
Sarah Cook, CEO
Home-Start HOST
Brian Thomas, Chief Executive
Hospitality & Hope
Karen Taylor, Food Inequality Officer
Anna Route, Development Officer
Hull Food Partnership
Joe Sieber, Headteacher
Ickburgh School
Sabine Goodwin, Coordinator
Independent Food Aid Network
Bruna Boscaini, Director
Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation
Peter Billington, Secretary
Lancashire Association of Trades Union Councils
Carlos Huascar Tapia Montes, Director
Latin American House
Tom Harbour, CEO
Learning with Parents
Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, Principal
Leo Baeck College
Gemma Hope, Director of Policy
Leonard Cheshire
Brad Pearce, Chair
Local Authorities Caters Association
Kathleen Heather, Director
Love North Southwark
Ben Waldram, Headteacher
Lowdham Primary School
Lindsey Macdonald, CEO
Magic Breakfast
Chloe Russell, Assistant Headteacher
Monksdown Primary School
Naomi Pohl, General Secretary
Musicians' Union
Patrick Roach, General Secretary
NASUWT
Maddy Desforges, CEO
NAVCA
Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive
National Children’s Bureau
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary
National Education Union
Sam Henson, Director of Policy and Communications
National Governance Association
Michelle Roach, Director
New Beginnings - Improving Lives
Anna Turley, Chair
North East Child Poverty Commission
Steve Chalke MBE, Founder
Oasis
Jason Elsom, CEO
Parentkind
Farah Elahi, Interim Executive Director
Pembroke House
Peter Tatchel, Director
Peter Tatchell Foundation
Danielle Azanuwha, Director
Powerfull Beyond All Measure
Steve Gillan, General Secretary
Prison Officers Association
Molly Shaher, Chair
Professional Association of Catering in Education
Paul O'Connor, Head of Bargaining
Public and Commercial Services Union
Matthew White, Chair
Public Sector Catering Alliance
Sarah Bailey OBE, Exec Headteacher
Queensbridge Primary School
Jane Webb, Communications Manager
Queens Hall Action On Poverty (The Brick)
Patricia Quigley, Treasurer
Right To Food London
Helena Houghton, Executive Director
Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Adopt a School Trust
Anna Kyrk, Deputy Headteacher
School 21
Andrea Silvain, Co-Headteacher
School 360
Sharon White, CEO
School And Public Health Nurses Association
Victoria Bond, Founder
School Guide UK
Martin Mayer, Secretary
Sheffield Trade Union Council
Richard Murphy, Professor of Accounting Practice
Sheffield University Management School
John McGowan, General Secretary
Social Workers Union
James Whiting, General Secretary
Socialist Educational Association
Laura Chan, Policy Officer
Soil Association
Rich Jones, CEO
St Andrew's Community Network
David Hobdey, CEO
St John's Foundation
Lucy Walker-Collins, Headteacher
Stroud Green School
Rajesh Makwana BEM, Executive Director
Sufra NW London
Nicola Noble, Co-headteacher
Surrey Square Primary School
Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive
Sustain
Andy Elvin, CEO
TACT
Guram Korkoti, Parliamentary Manager
The Big Issue Group
Laurence Guinness, Chief Executive
The Childhood Trust
Jo Wittams, Interim Executive Director
The Equality Trust
Charlotte Hill, CEO
The Felix Project
Alex Botha, Interim Chief Executive
Toynbee Hall
Tim Morfin, Founder and Chief Executive
Transforming Lives for Good
Alex Sutton, Programme Director
Trust for London
Kate Bell, Head of Rights, International, Social and Economics
TUC
Christina McAnea, General Secretary
UNISON
Paddy Lillis, General Secretary
USDAW
Ndidi Okezie, CEO
UK Youth
Dan Frith, Manager
Wandsworth Foodbank
Ruby Barnett, Food Partnership Coordinator
Wandsworth Food Partnership
Julie Kay, Project Coordinator
Wirral Older People’s Parliament
Bernadette King, CEO
Women's Enterprising Breakthrough
Debs McCahon, Chief Executive
Woodcraft Folk
Anela Anwar, Chief Executive
Z2K
Andrea Zanardo, Rabbi
Assembly of Rabbis
Lynn Green, General Secretary
Baptist Union of Great Britain
Elli Tikvah Sarah, Rabbi
Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue
Rev.Dr. Joseph D Cortis, Coordinator
Caritas Leeds
Mimi Wilsher, Advocacy, Policy, Research Coordinator
Caritas Salford
Ben Gilchrist, Chief Executive
Caritas Shrewsbury
John Coleby, Director
Caritas Westminster
Gareth McNab, Head of External Affairs
Christians Against Poverty
Niall Cooper
Church Action on Poverty
Joanne Grenfell, Bishop of Stepney
Diocese of London
Ellen Loudon, Director of Social Justice
Diocese of Liverpool
John Arnold, Bishop of Salford
Diocese of Salford
Richard Jacobi, Rabbi
East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue
S.M. Abdul Qayum, Head Imam
East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre
Tanya Sakhnovich, Rabbi
Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue
Helen Cameron, Moderator
Free Churches Group
Naomi Goldman, Rabbi
Kol Chai Hatch End Reform Jewish Community
Rajnish Kashyap, General Secretary/Director
Hindu Council UK (HCUK)
Sanjay Jagatia, Chair
Hindu Think Tank UK (Hindus in UK)
Rabbi Charley Baginsky, CEO
Liberal Judaism
Robyn Ashworth-Steen, Rabbi
Manchester Reform Synagogue
Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi
Masorti Judaism
Fabian Sborovsky, Rabbi
Menorah Synagogue
Revd. Graham Thompson, President
Anthony Boateng, Vice President
Methodist Church of Britain
Fadi Itani OBE, CEO
Muslim Charities Forum
Zara Mohammed, Secretary-General
Muslim Council of Britain
Abdul Rahman Hussein, UK Programmes Manager
Muslim Hands
Indarjit Singh (Lord Singh of Wimbledon), Director
Network of Sikh Organisations
Kathryn Vardi, Rabbi
North West Surrey Synagogue
Chris Price, CEO
Pecan
Sylvia Rothschild, Rabbi
Reform Synagogue
Rachel Vogler, Right to Food Campaign Manager
René Cassin
Piara Miah, Outreach
Shahjalal Mosque
Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, President
Shomrim Stamford Hill
Hugh Somerville Knapman, Parish Priest
St Elizabeth's Catholic Church
Andrew Cleary, Deacon
St Paul and St Tims Catholic Churches
Cliff Cohen, Rabbi
Thanet & District Reform Synagogue
Lea Muehlstein, Rabbi
The Ark Synagogue
Rev James Green, Executive Director
Together Liverpool
Revd Fiona Bennett, Moderator of General Assembly
United Reformed Church
Mario Phillip, Religious Minister
Willesden Seventh-day Adventist Church
Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty, Leader
Brighton and Hove Council
Cllr Clare Cummins, Cabinet Member, Housing Services
Bury Council
Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Cllr Hazel Dawkins, Vice-chair
Chelmsley Wood Town Council
Ian Brookfield, Leader
City Of Wolverhampton Council
Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster
Doncaster Council
Martin Gannon, Leader
Gateshead Council
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Shantanu Rajawat, Leader
Hounslow Council
Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader
Cllr Matt Morrow, Children and Young People's Services
Greenwich Council
Cllr Michelline Safi Ngongo, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families
Islington Council
Cllr Claire Holland, Leader
Lambeth Council
Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool
Liverpool City
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
Greater London Authority
Jamie Driscoll, Mayor for the North of Tyne
North of Tyne Combined Authority
Cllr Amanda Chadderton, Council Leader / GM Lead for Equalities, Inclusion & Cohesion
Oldham Council / GMCA
Tony Page, Mayor of Reading
Reading Borough Council
Cllr Rachel Massey, Children's Services and Education
Rochdale Council
Cllr Stephanie Archer, Children's Services including Education
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader
Southwark Council
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Cllr Ruth Dombey, Leader
Sutton Council
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Cllr David Molyneux, Leader
Cllr Jenny Bullen, Lead Member of Children's Services
Wigan Council
Jan Williamson, Leader
Wirral Council
Mike Amesbury
Labour MP for Weaver Vale
Paula Barker
Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree
Apsana Begum
Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse
Hilary Benn
Labour MP for Leeds Central
Clive Betts
Labour MP for Sheffield South East
Olivia Blake
Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam
Paul Blomfield
Labour MP for Sheffield Central
Richard Burgon
Labour MP for Leeds East
Ian Byrne
Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby
Sarah Champion
Labour MP for Rotheram
Dan Carden
Labour MP for Liverpool Walton
Marsha de Cordova
Labour MP for Battersea
Jon Cruddas
Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham
Marsha De Cordova
Labour MP for Battersea
Mary Kelly Foy
Labour MP for the City of Durham
Barry Gardiner
Labour MP for Brent North
Margaret Greenwood
Labour MP for Wirral West
Sharon Hodgson
Labour MP for Washington & Sunderland West
George Howarth
Labour MP for Knowsley
Kim Johnson
Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside
Ian Lavery
Labour MP for Wansbeck
Darren Jones
Labour MP for Bristol North West
Emma Lewell-Buck
Labour MP for South Shields
Tony Lloyd
Labour MP for Rochdale
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Labour MP for Salford and Eccles
Andy McDonald
Labour MP for Middlesbrough
John McDonnell
Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington
Grahame Morris
Labour MP for Easington
Charlotte Nichols
Labour MP for Warrington North
Kate Osborne
Labour MP for Jarrow
Yasmin Qureshi
Labour MP for Bolton South East
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Labour MP for Streatham
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Labour (Co-op) MP for Brighton Kemptown
Cat Smith
Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood
Virendra Sharma
Labour MP for Ealing Southall
Zarah Sultana
Labour MP for Coventry South
Stephen Timms
Labour MP for East Ham
Jon Trickett
Labour MP for Hemsworth
Derek Twigg
Labour MP for Halton in Cheshire
Mick Whitley
Labour MP for Birkenhead
Nadia Whittome
Labour MP for Nottingham East
Beth Winter
Labour MP for Cynon Valley
Mohammad Yasin
Labour MP for Bedford and Kempston
Baroness Armstrong
Labour Peer
Baroness Blower
Labour Peer
Lord Boateng
Labour Peer
Lord Clark
Labour Peer
Baroness Crawley
Labour Peer
Lord Griffiths
Labour Peer
Baronness Lister
Labour Peer
Lord Murphy
Labour Peer
Lord Sikka
Labour Peer
Lord Snape
Labour Peer
Lord Watson
Labour Peer
Daisy Cooper
Liberal Democrat MP for for St Albans
Sir Ed Davey
Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton
Wera Hobhouse
Liberal Democrat MP for Bath
Munira Wilson
Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham
Caroline Lucas
Green MP for Brighton Pavilion
Rachael Maskell
Labour and Co-operative MP for York Central
Kate Osamor
Labour and Co-operative MP for Edmonton
Diane Abbott
Independent MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Conor McGinn
Independent MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood
Claudia Webbe
Independent MP for Leicester East
Baroness Uddin
Independent Peer
Cliff Auger, Chair
Chelsea Supporters Trust
Ian Byrne, Member of Parliament
Fans Supporting Foodbanks
Alex Timperley, Organiser
MCFC Fans Foodbank Support
Stuart Latimer, Social Media Manager
NUFC Fans’ FoodBank
EnRico Montalvo, Business Support Admin
Palace for Life Foundation
Brian Fisher, GP
Amersham Vale GP Surgery
Nicola Heslehurst, Chair
Association for the Study of Obesity
Eddie Crouch, Chair
British Dental Association
Annette Mansell-Green, Director of Trade Union and Public Affairs
British Dietetic Association
Dr David Strain, Chair of Board of Science
British Medical Association
Jenny Harris, President
British Society of Paediatric Dentistry
Katharine Jenner, Director
Consensus Action on Salt, Sugar and Health
Chris Askew, CEO
Diabetes UK
Sally Bunday MBE, Founder/CEO
Hyperactive Children's Support Group
Dr Camilla Kingdon, President
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
William Roberts, CEO
Royal Society for Public Health
Sharon White, CEO
School And Public Health Nurses Association
Harry Stratton, Secretary
Socialist Health Association
Fiona Ellwood, President
Society of British Dental Nurses
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