Tower Hamlets ‘proud to celebrate’ school food offer
In recognition of National School Meals Week (11 – 15 November), Tower Hamlets Council is celebrating its school food offer, having recently marked one year since it became the first local authority in England to rollout universal free school meals to all primary and secondary pupils up to the age of 16.
The secondary school scheme was rolled out from September 2023 with £722k investment to schools for all new equipment to be purchased and installed.
Since its launch last year, nearly one million more free meals were served to secondary pupils who would normally have had to pay for them.
Schools in Tower Hamlets have access to a number of council initiatives to help engage pupils in all aspects of school food, from growing food in school gardens to encouraging children to try new food and learn about cooking.
The council’s Fantastic Food in Schools programme, a public health initiative for primary schools, delivers a whole-school menu of support including upskilling kitchen teams, delivering food education to pupils and introducing ‘family-style’ dining.
During National School Meals Week, Deputy Mayor Maium Talukdar, Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, will be attending Mayflower Primary School, one of the Fantastic Food in Schools pilot schools and an example of great school food leadership in the borough.
Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said:
“I am proud to celebrate our school food offer this National School Meals Week, following on from the one-year anniversary of Tower Hamlets becoming the first local authority in the country to provide universal free school meals to all primary and secondary schools.
“The fact that we have been able to provide nearly a million more free meals to secondary school students since the policy launched ensures that no families that are struggling financially are slipping through the net.
“I urge other councils to consider rolling out this policy, to ensure no children in England go hungry at lunchtime.”
Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, said:
“Universal free school meals create positive educational and health outcomes for pupils, whilst saving families money.
“The council is monitoring progress and the positive impact the policy is having on students and their families.
“Thank you to the education and council staff whose support is enabling the success of the policy.”