More primary school children across the country will benefit from a free healthy school lunch as Ed Balls today invited all local authorities to bid for cash to fund more universal free school meal pilots.

Free school meal pilots are already running in three local authorities - Durham and Newham and Wolverhampton. Durham and Newham are trialling universal free school meals for all primary age children and Wolverhampton are trialling extended eligibility. 

Although the pilots only started in September 2009 there has already been some very positive feedback. Adding new pilots from September 2010 will help even more families across the country and allow the government to collect more evidence on the health and educational benefits of free school meals.

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls said: "We know good health is vital if children are going to enjoy their childhood and achieve their full potential. Eating a nutritious meal at lunchtime from a young age can make eating well a healthy habit for life.

"Our commitment to invest a further £35 million in these additional universal free school meals pilots will mean thousands of children and their parents will feel the benefit from September."

Chair of the School Food Trust, Rob Rees MBE, added: "Nutritious, tasty school lunches have an important part to play in improving children's health, wellbeing, performance and in tackling poverty - issues at the heart of the agenda for so many local authorities. We very much look forward to working with the new pilots as they roll out."

Words: Maria Bracken

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