“The school food system is a fantastic way to feed the vulnerable children”

Celebrity Chef and Michelin-starred restauranteur, Tom Kerridge, has called for the extension of free school meal eligibility to every child who is on Universal Credit.

The comment from Tom, who owns the two Michelin starred Hand & Flowers and the one Michelin starred The Coach, follows a recent visit where the chef cooked for the students at Torridon Primary School in Lewisham as part of a Full Time Meals takeover.

The event organised in collaboration with education caterer Chartwells, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, was designed to raise awareness about the need to extend free school meal eligibility, while also recognising the work of education catering teams.

Speaking at the event, Tom said: "Too often school food gets a bad reputation...with the cost-of-living crisis, the school food system is a fantastic way to feed the vulnerable children who are slipping through the cracks.”

He added: "Data shows that 800,000 children living in poverty do not qualify for free school meals, this needs to be addressed with the extension of free school meals provided to every child who is on Universal Credit."

The Full Time Meals campaign was founded by Kerridge and seeks to implement nutritious free school meals for children across the UK.

Manda George, Head Teacher of Torridon Primary School, added: "Healthy, nutritious food is so important to support children's learning and I hope that the Full Time Meals campaign will help make a difference and end child food poverty once and for all."

STATE OF THE NATION

Tom’s comments come at a time when millions across the country struggle amid rising inflation, soaring energy bills and a worsening cost of living crisis.

Last month Tom spoke out against the price that hospitality firms were expected to pay for their energy bills after he revealed that facing a near 700% increase in electricity costs for his restaurant business.

Discussing what measures should be considered by government, Tom argued: “We need to look at what that business price cap is and unfortunately the supply chain also has that problem. The butchers, the fishmongers, the farmers, the veg growers - it is inevitable with food inflation that costs go up."

He added: “At the same time, the guests and the consumer at home has less money because of that food inflation and price inflation, it kind of like pulls everything apart. It's going to be a very, very difficult couple of years.”