Feeding Britain

13/10/2026

While we welcome that the Government has expanded eligibility for Free School Meals, we urge for a review to take place of the current funding models.

Schools in England face an annual shortfall in covering the costs of Free School Meals - with the gap often being filled from teaching and learning budgets. This places additional pressure on schools, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas.

You can find out more about this and read our other Budget recommendations via the link in our bio.

12/10/2026

Today, Northern Ireland's Holiday Hunger Bill could face significant delays following proposed amendments by the Minister for Education.

We stand alongside anti-hunger campaigners in urging MLAs to support this vital legislation without further amendment, ensuring families can access much-needed support during school holidays.

11/10/2026

With the Autumn Budget approaching, we're calling on the Government to expand eligibility for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring more children and young people from low-income families can benefit from vital holiday support.

Programmes like HAF Plus show just how much of a difference this support can make, giving young people the chance to take part in activities that reflect their interests and help them build skills for the future.

We hope the upcoming Budget will be an opportunity to extend this support to more young people.

Add your voice to our campaign here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdm30ZK8Auf_96PKLpM2pj591XjQ-YKjJVT5xExadYR1raGFg/viewform

📸 Photos courtesy of Northumberland Holiday Provision, StreetGames and Nebula Labs.

05/10/2026

For many working families on low incomes, accessing support through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme isn’t always straightforward.

Sue Adams, CEO of North Tyneside Disability Forum, joined the Feeding Britain podcast to discuss some of the barriers these families face.

From this September, more children and young people are eligible for Free School Meals during term time, but many still won’t be eligible for HAF during the school holidays.

We’re calling for HAF eligibility to be extended in line with Free School Meal eligibility, so families don’t lose access to vital food and activities when the school term ends.

Add your voice to our call here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdm30ZK8Auf_96PKLpM2pj591XjQ-YKjJVT5xExadYR1raGFg/viewform

04/10/2026

We have submitted our recommendations to the Government for the Autumn Budget in order to help reduce dependence on emergency food parcels. As part of this, we urge the Government to restore the value of Healthy Start.

You can find out more about this and our other recommendations here:https://tr.ee/OKUnMw

01/10/2026

How can we help people move away from food bank dependency, while preventing others from reaching crisis in the first place?

In this podcast episode, Louisa Hobbs, Operations Manager at MK Food Bank, talks about their Beyond Food service and the support it provides both to people already caught in a cycle of food bank dependency and those at risk of falling into crisis.

Louisa also shares the impact they’re seeing, with the service helping some people move away from food support altogether.

Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://tr.ee/HuUYww

30/09/2026

This morning at the Labour Party Conference, Angela Eagle MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced the new Good Food Neighbourhoods Programme, as part of the Government’s work to improve access to healthy, affordable food.

Feeding Britain’s National Director, Andrew Forsey OBE, responds to the announcement and looks ahead to supporting the programme’s implementation.

23/09/2026

Thank you Sureena for meeting with us and for raising the importance of ensuring children and young people have access to nutritious food and activities during the school holidays.

We look forward to continuing to make the case for widening access to the HAF programme.

Really useful meeting with Feeding Britain to talk about the welcome expansion of free school meals, which will benefit around 3 million children.

Welcoming progress doesn’t mean pretending the job is finished. There’s more to do.

Families across Wolverhampton and Willenhall know the pressure doesn’t disappear when the school gates close. The school holidays can be particularly tough when the cost of feeding the family goes up.

I also want evidence and data on widening the Holiday Activities and Food programme so more children can access healthy food and activities during the holidays.

I’ll take those experiences and evidence to Ministers in Parliament.

23/09/2026

From this September, more children and young people are eligible for Free School Meals during term time, but many of those same children are not eligible for HAF support during the school holidays.

Feeding Britain is calling for HAF eligibility to be extended in line with Free School Meal eligibility, so families do not lose access to vital food and activities when the school term ends.

Thank you to Lorraine Beavers MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood for supporting our campaign as we handed in our petition to Downing Street earlier this month.

You can still add your voice here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdm30ZK8Auf_96PKLpM2pj591XjQ-YKjJVT5xExadYR1raGFg/viewform

21/09/2026

Healthy Start can make a real difference to families with very young children who are struggling with the cost of food. Too many people are still missing out on the support they are entitled to.

Feeding Britain recently joined BBC Politics North to discuss how Healthy Start could better support eligible families.

We are calling for three reforms to maximise the effectiveness of Healthy Start in the months ahead:

• Restore the value of the weekly allowance, following years of real-terms cuts

• Move as quickly as possible toward the proactive registration of all eligible families

• Expand the range of items, within nutritional guidelines, that can be purchased with an increased weekly allowance