Debate contribution: Free School Meals Provision

Debate contribution by Ms Cara Hunter on 25 November 2025.

MLA

Ms Cara Hunter

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

25 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Free School Meals Provision

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5258857

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

I welcome the opportunity to open the debate on this important motion. Simply put, we will be discussing the need to fill the tummies of children in our schools in order to empower and uplift them with at least one guaranteed meal a day. Hunger is recognised as a marker of an adverse childhood experience (ACE). Too often, children struggle with poverty and hunger in total silence, too pained to ask for lunch money when they know that their parents simply do not have it. This is not an issue in a faraway country; it is right here, at home, in Northern Ireland. Our children are literally starving in our classrooms, particularly those who have parents on low incomes. The Research and Information Service (RaISe) has revealed that, in my constituency, almost 50% of children in the Coleraine area benefit from free school meals. The need for more to have access to free school meals is evident. I know that more families really wish that they could benefit from them. Today, I urge the Minister to commit to a bold, transformative ambition: a serious expansion of free school meal provision across our schools, with a funded plan to deliver universal access by 2030. The proposal recognises that providing free school meals in primary schools and throughout the school system delivers multiple benefits: improved nutrition, enhanced educational outcomes and long-term economic returns for our society. Why does that matter? We know that families face growing pressures and struggles with food insecurity. We know that they are under immense pressure because of the cost-of-living crisis, with the ever-increasing price of food, energy and basic essentials. Many working families are stretched to breaking point. The number of children living in poverty in Northern Ireland remains alarmingly high. According to recent figures, around 26% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. That leaves a significant portion of children who live in poverty but who are not currently covered. Furthermore, we in the SDLP find the decision to halt the school holiday food grant scheme deeply regrettable. It previously provided vital support to low-income families during the school holidays, when children lose a daily meal at school and are at an increased risk of hunger. That policy change has definitely left a gap. There is clear evidence that children from low-income backgrounds and those who qualify for free school meals face an attainment gap in our schools. Providing free meals ensures that every child at school is nourished and ready to learn and reduces hunger or stress, which damages concentration in the classroom. Research makes it clear that free school meals improve pupils' nutrition, health, attendance, engagement, behaviour and, ultimately, educational attainment and long-term outcomes. Free school meals should be viewed not merely as a cost but as a long-term investment, with improved health, better progression, reduced inequalities and reduced costs elsewhere in the system. Studies in the UK have shown that universal or expanded provision can, most importantly, reduce stigma, drive up healthy eating and deliver returns in reduced child poverty and social mobility. Today, we call on the Minister to significantly expand eligibility for free school meals ahead of making them universal. We demand that the eligibility criteria be widened so that many more low-income families and children who are currently excluded can access free breakfast or lunch at school. It is not acceptable that nearly one in five children in poverty in Northern Ireland remains ineligible. That is a failure. We call for the reinstatement or a redesign of holiday provision. The previous school holiday food grant scheme provided essential support to children and families during breaks and ensured that our children did not go hungry when detached from school provision. That must be restored or reformed now. We ask that the Minister of Education, in collaboration with the Minister of Finance and the wider sector, commits to a clear, transparent, funded road map. That plan should include timelines, pilot schemes, phased universal access that will be extended to all children by 2030 and resource commitments to deliver it sustainably. What role can the Executive play? The Executive claim that they are serious about tackling poverty and inequality, yet it is clear that we are falling behind other jurisdictions across these islands when it comes to free school meal provision. Other Governments are expanding universal or nearly universal access, reducing stigma and closing gaps. Every day, families in Northern Ireland are being squeezed. School meal price increases and rising costs are really hitting families. It is time that we prioritise families. Children who should be protected are waking up hungry or skipping meals. That cannot continue; it cannot stay that way. Free school meals are not an optional cost; they really are an investment in the future of our children. They are a foundational building block for a child's well-being, learning outcomes and social mobility. If we are really serious about ensuring equality, tackling the attainment gap and lifting people out of poverty, we must act now. The motion is not just about providing meals or virtue signalling; it is about dignity, fairness, our children's futures and the importance of equal access to opportunity. It is about parents not having to make impossible choices and children not having to miss out on the simple right of a nutritious meal, allowing them to thrive in the classroom. We call on the Minister to recognise the evidence that we have discussed here today, commit to expanding free school meals, restore holiday food support and deliver a funded path to universal provision by 2030. We cannot leave our families and, most importantly, our children behind. I commend the motion to the House.

952 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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