Ask your MP Jim McMahon to back Free School Meals for All
Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
Free School Meals for All would ensure every child in primary school gets a hot, healthy and balanced dinner at school every day.
Only 2% of packed lunches provide the nutrition primary school pupils need to learn. For busy parents and carers, this would mean one less thing to worry about and more free time to spend with their kids.
London has already made the extension of Free School Meals permanent for all. So too has Wales, and Scotland for children up to age 10. Now’s the time for the rest of England to follow suit.
Ask Jim McMahon MP to back this for every primary school pupil in Chadderton and Royton.
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To:
Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Jim McMahon MP,
Child hunger is an epidemic in our schools.
Last year, 4.3 million children across the country were living in poverty. Many did not have access to nutritious and balanced meals, or were having to skip meals entirely.
I don’t need to tell you that Greater Manchester is one of the worst-hit areas in the country. Over a third of the children in our region live in poverty.
This crisis is only getting worse — and it’s affecting our children’s ability to succeed in school and life.
I am writing to urge you to back Free School Meals for All so that every child in our region is guaranteed at least one hot, healthy dinner, every day.
The evidence is clear: Free School Meals for All works. Just look at London’s rollout—families say it's eased their finances, helped their children try new foods, and boosted focus in class.
Expanding this beyond the capital would mean that every child, no matter their postcode, has the essentials to succeed.
Right now, for the first three years of school, every child in England gets a hot school dinner, and no child under seven wants for food while they’re at school.
But from Year 3 on, thousands of children as young as 7 are missing out on a healthy dinner at school.
The call to extend Free School Meals for All is loud and growing. Over 300 organisations across civil society — including public health experts, trade unions, faith leaders and public figures — agree that a good education stretches from the classroom to the canteen.
Wales was the first nation in the UK to deliver Free School Meals for All. Scotland has rolled this out for pupils up to age 10. London has extended this for every child in primary school for good.
It is time for the Government to do this for children in every corner of England.
Free School Meals for All will ensure every child gets to flourish, no matter where they live.
Jim McMahon MP, will you back Free School Meals for every child in primary school?
Children in Greater Manchester can’t wait any longer.
Yours sincerely,
[insert name here]