Eat for Free

Eat for Free is Newham's universal primary school meals scheme which has been providing free school meals since 2009, now saving families approximately £500 per child each year. Eat for Free is an opportunity to invest in certified, high quality and nutritious meals that sit at the heart of whole school approaches to food and health whilst delivering action on community wealth building as well as Newham Climate Now and the Just Transition Plan.

Timeline of school meals in Newham:

2009 – Newham took part in the Governments Universal Free School Meals pilot (PDF)

2011 – Pilot ends and an evaluation is published (PDF), but Newham continued to provide a universal primary meal offer (Eat for Free)

2014 – Government introduced national Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)

2015 – Mandatory national School Food Standards introduced, ensuring school food is nutritious and of high quality

2019 – Co-production of Eat for Free grant conditions & principles

2023 – Mayor of London introduces Universal Free School Meals

2024 – Newham celebrates 15 years of universal primary Free School Meals

“Eat for Free is so much more than just a meal for all children in Newham. It’s a joined up approach that is targeting children’s health and attainment, and it creates a school meal system that has the biggest possible impact on the local food economy.” 

Stephanie Slater

Founder/Chief Executive of School Food Matters