Playing our part in ensuring no child goes hungry

The Bevan Foundation is proud to have played a part in providing every primary school pupil in Wales with a free meal – but there is more to do

We are delighted that the Welsh Government has confirmed that an extra 176,000 primary school learners in Wales will receive a free school meal from the start of this school term. Having a decent lunch has multiple benefits: they encourage healthy eating, can boost social skills and help pupils to learn. They also help to tackle child poverty by saving parents’ money and reduce stigma.

It took a long, hard campaign to persuade the Welsh Government to offer a free meal to all children.

Just six years ago, in 2018, the then Welsh Government set the earnings threshold above which a child would not be eligible for a free meal at just £7,400 a year. As a result, thousands of children in poverty had to pay around £7.50 a week to get a meal. Over the next few years, attempts to extend the eligibility for a meal to more children were voted down in the Senedd, primarily on the grounds of cost.

While we recognised that the Welsh Government did not have a blank cheque, the figures quoted in Senedd debates were frankly not credible. So, we commissioned independent analysts Policy in Practice to do some calculations which proved that providing a meal to more children was affordable. We also established that practical barriers such as the need to refurbish kitchens, could be overcome. With input from other civil society organisations and cross party interest, the pledge to introduce universal free meals for primary pupils was central to the Labour – Plaid Cooperation agreement. 

But there is more to be done.

Despite the welcome news for primary pupils, many secondary school pupils from low income families are not eligible for a free meal, while the Welsh Government denies around 1,500 poor children in Wales a free meal simply because of their parents’ immigration status – unlike in England. 

Please support us to make sure that no child goes hungry in Wales.