Top chef Tom Kerridge has urged the Tory Government to extend free school meals to more needy children.
The TV cook, who received free school dinners as a child, said it was “ludicrous and ridiculous” that an estimated 800,000 kids living in poverty miss out on a school dinner due to the Government's eligibility rules.
He called on the Tories to extend the benefit to all children whose households receive Universal Credit - and called for a long term overhaul of the system so every child gets a nutritious lunch.
The Mirror and the National Education Union are calling for politicians in England to follow Scotland and Wales by providing free school meals for all primary school pupils.
In an interview with the Mirror, Tom said growing up in a single parent family on a Gloucester council estate had spurred him on to call for change.
“Now being an adult and a parent, I see how difficult it must have been for my mum," he said. "You don't realise as a kid how hard it must have been.”
He said his mum was “unbelievable - two jobs, trying to feed two kids, trying to make sure that we felt that we never missed out on anything.”
She always welcomed other children into the house and tried to find them a glass of milk or something to eat, even though money was tight, he said.
The chef, who teamed up with England star Marcus Rashford to battle child hunger, said making free school meals universal would make sure every child gets a decent hot meal each day and improve their understanding of food and cooking.
Pupils can learn better when they’ve eaten a proper meal and their behaviour improves, which helps their teachers, he added.
“Surely the first priorities of people that need financial support from the government - the priorities are a roof over their head, warmth, heating and eating. You would prioritise making sure that their kids eat.”
Tom blasted the “lazy narrative” around parents struggling to feed their children.
He said: “I know from my own experience, from the people that I've met, from the campaign that I've done, the reality is we have people that go to work, that have full time jobs, that perhaps even have two jobs, that are still having to qualify for Universal Credit, that are still using food banks.
“These aren't lazy people. These are people that are really struggling with the pressures of society right now and doing everything they can to try and help their kids get a better education, have something to eat and provide a stable family background.”
He added: “If your argument is against giving kids something to eat at lunchtime, there's something fundamentally flawed with you. You're the problem. It's not the kids.”
Tom said teachers were having to dip into their own pockets to feed children on a daily basis.
“We should not be in that position in this society,” he said.
All children in England can get free school meals up to the end of Year 2 but after that it only applies to households on certain benefits.
Pupils living in Universal Credit families are eligible if their parents earn less than £7,400-a-year from work.
Tom called for free school meals to be extended to the 800,000 children living in poverty but who don't qualify.
“I find it absolutely ludicrous and ridiculous. We already know that these kids are from the most vulnerable parts of society," he said.
“We already know that if they're not getting a free school meal, they're probably being sent with a packed lunch or no lunch.
“Then that packed lunch doesn't cover any of the bases, tick any of the boxes necessarily of nutritional values, of sustainability, in terms of child growth, in terms of addressing health, nutrition.”
Pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister to do more to help hungry children after London Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled an emergency scheme to offer all primary kids in the capital a free lunch from September.
In an appeal to the Prime Minister, Tom said: “The minimum we need to do is make sure that those 800,000 kids get a meal. I mean that's the minimum of what we need to do.
“Priority for me is about making sure that everybody should just have a school meal - and we should drop the word free because it then makes it feel like it's a handout. It should be part and parcel of an education system.”
He also questioned why MPs can get subsidised food in Parliament but weren't pushing for needy kids to get a proper meal.
“How somebody on £85,000-a-year can justify them having a subsidised lunch when they won’t feed kids from a disadvantaged background and they vote against it?
“There's something morally wrong, there’s a compass that is completely off kilter.”
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the NEU, said: "School meals help children focus in the classroom, connect with their friends and enjoy their time in school.
"Parents and carers work hard to provide for their kids – but the restrictive eligibility of the current scheme and a growing cost-of-living crisis means that too many children and young people are missing out.
"No child should be in school too hungry to learn. We urge the Government to follow the Mayor of London’s example and ensure that no child misses out on the nutrition they need to reach their full potential, by making sure every child in primary school has a hot school meal every day."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals and regularly consult on a range of matters with national stakeholders and local authorities.
"Since 2010 the number of children receiving a free meal at school has increased by more than two million, increasing the number of pupils who benefit from free school meals in education settings from just one in six, to over one third.
“On top of this, we have made a further investment in the National School Breakfast Programme to extend the programme for another year, backed by up to £30 million.”
