School meals in the UK: ultra-processed, unequal and inadequate.

This involves schools stating their commitment to a healthy school environment online and a consultation with Ofsted, the school reviewing body, on monitoring school food quality. A report by the Food Foundation highlights that only 25 % of schools in England were estimated to be committed to meeting the School Food Standards([32]), data on the remaining 75 % of schools is lacking. Recent research paints an alarming picture of the school food system in the UK. For this reason, the National Food Strategy recommended extending the means-tested free school meal eligibility to all children with an income of £20 000/year or less to ensure more children who experience poverty and severe food insecurity have access to a free school meal([30]). [Extracted from the article]