The survey, which can be accessed in full here, found that 83% of teachers say children are coming to school hungry because their families cannot afford enough food. Over 50% of teachers said schools are subsidising the cost of feeding children with some teachers paying for lunches.
The Chefs in Schools survey also found that 72% of teachers saw children bringing packed lunches with insufficient amounts of food and 85% of respondents said children who were ineligible for free school meals would benefit from receiving them.
A spokesperson for Chefs in Schools said: “Join us in supporting the Feed Our Future campaign which calls on the Government to extend free school meal eligibility to all children in England from households in receipt of universal credit. The Government can change this by expanding eligibility to all households receiving universal credit. The change would more than pay for itself – returning £1.38 for every pound spent over 20 years.
“Children in England are the worst off – eligibility thresholds here for free school meals are the UK’s strictest – only families earning under £7,400 qualify. In Northern Ireland, the threshold is £14,000. In Wales & Scotland all primary school children qualify. We need a fairer system.”