Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, standing with students in a school dinner hall.

Free School Meals

No child should go to school hungry

Primary school children in state-funded schools in London will continue to get free school meals for the next four years. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has extended the funding to help build a better and fairer London for everyone.

The Mayor recognises that families are in urgent need of support. The meals will help families with the spiralling cost of living by making sure that children in state-funded London schools will receive free school meals.

The extnsion of universal free school meals could save families over £500 per child per year.*

This is vital support for families facing a cost of living crisis, and will ensure that state primary school children get at least one nutritious meal a day. In 2023-24, the Mayor has funded more than 43 million meals, providing families with a much needed safety net.

Read the Impact on Urban Health’s report

Why we're providing children with free school meals

When they are hungry, children struggle to concentrate and learn in the classroom. A free school meal will help children to reach their potential.
This initiative builds on the Mayor’s existing work helping families to cope during the cost of living crisis. Find out about other cost of living support available to Londoners on the Cost of Living hub.

Over two years, families which routinely pay for school lunches could save over £500 per pupil per year due to the Mayor’s UFSM programme.

It is assumed that on average school meals cost 13.25 per week (or £2.65 per meal) in 2023-24. The calculations for 2024-25 included projected population levels and inflation rates for that year.

Sources

Pupil figures for 2023-24: the most recent available data on the number of KS2 pupils (Years 3-6) who are not eligible for the government’s free school meal (FSM) offering was collected from the Department for Education (see Schools, pupils and their characteristics, Academic year 2022-23 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK.
Pupil figures for 2024-25: GLA City Intelligence’s demographic projections are used (see Trend-based population projections – London Datastore) to account for the fact that pupils aged 7-10 (roughly corresponding to the age cohort of KS2 pupils Years 3-6) will slightly decline.
School meal costs: based on a meal cost of £2.65 the cost per week would be £13.25.
Inflation rates: Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook for March 2024, based on which food inflation is estimated at 2.5 per cent for the 2025/26 school year Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook for November 2023 estimate food inflation to be 2.03 per cent (see Economic and fiscal outlook - March 2024, Office for Budget Responsibility).

Register with your council for free school meals

Children will receive their free school meal under the Mayor’s scheme automatically, but it is really important that parents and guardians continue to complete their school or borough’s registration form because a child may be eligible for extra funding for their school from the government, which is worth £1,300 per year.

In some boroughs and schools there are also extra entitlements parents and guardians might be eligible for, such as support for food in the school holidays.

Find more information about how to register for government free school meals on a borough’s website, or by contacting the school.

Find your local council

Working collaboratively with boroughs, schools and families

We are working closely with boroughs, schools and others to make sure that there is a straightforward process as this initiative is implemented.

We have launched borough and school hubs to provide colleagues with the relevant guidance and resources needed to increase capacity.

Guidance and support for schools

The Mayor is funding universal free school meal provision in London state primary schools. Find guidance and support for schools.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in a school canteen with canteen staff and students.

Guidance and support for boroughs

The Mayor is funding universal free school meal provision in London state primary schools. Find guidance and support for boroughs.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in a London school with young students.

Guidance and support for families

The Mayor is funding universal free school meal provision in London state primary schools. Find guidance and support for families.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, sitting beside a primary school student in a school canteen.

Find out more about free holiday meals

Involving schools and children in the conversation

The Mayor Sadiq Khan with children around a table eating a meal

The Mayor of London’s Love Your Lunch Challenge

Last year, the Mayor asked young Londoners to join the conversation about Free School Meals and to create a piece of work that tells about why they love free school meals.

Find out more

Further actions the Mayor is taking to support vulnerable Londoners

This emergency funding will support children and families across the capital in dealing with the extreme financial pressure they are currently facing.   

The Mayor will work hand-in-hand with the new Government to help build a better and fairer London for everyone and will continue engaging with partners, boroughs and the government to fight against food insecurity.

As past of his cost of living package, the Mayor is also providing emergency free holiday meals to support Londoners. The programme has provided 12.3m holiday and weekend meals to low-income families in Year 1 of the Free Holiday Meals programme. We expect to deliver more than 10m holiday and weekend meals over Year 2 of the Free Holiday Meals programme.