School Food Review
The School Food Review is a group of 38 member organisations which include charities, unions, catering bodies, educational organisations and academics who contribute to England’s school food system. Our work is supported by Impact on Urban Health and governed by School Food Matters, Chefs in Schools, Bite Back, Sustain and the Food Foundation.
This is a pivotal year for school food. The government has recently announced a consultation on updating school food standards and a commitment for standards to be monitored. This comes alongside government rollout of free breakfast clubs and expansion of free school meal eligibility. These wins are the result of a tireless collaboration and campaigning by members of the School Food Review. Together, we have proven that collective action works. Together, we are mighty.
Matthew Shanks, Chair of the School Food Review, said:
"We warmly welcome the government’s commitment to create stronger school food standards and for these to be monitored. This is an important opportunity to realise our coalition’s long-held ambition to improve the quality of school food and ensure that every child has the nutrition they need to thrive. Coupled with rolling out universal breakfast clubs and wider access to free school meals, this is an exciting opportunity to truly transform school food.”
“Working with schools every day, I see just how essential this transformation is – for children, for families and for schools. When pupils have access to nutritious meals, they are better equipped to focus, attend regularly and achieve their potential.”
“I want to congratulate all 38 of our member organisations for the part they have played in getting us here. Years of collaborative campaigning have helped make the case for improving the quality of school food.”
The benefits of nutritious school meals are vast: better attainment, attendance and health outcomes over a child’s lifetime.
The School Food Review will continue to advocate for a thriving school food system, one that works for every child.
Reports
The Superpowers of Free School Meals report (2025) highlights the power of school food to support not just better health and wellbeing, but improved attendance, better pupil outcomes and wider social benefits, including reduced inequalities. It clearly demonstrates that investing in free school meals makes sense socially, morally and economically.
Our findings from the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme (2025) demonstrate the positive impact of free primary school breakfast clubs on attendance, wellbeing and readiness to learn, while highlighting the need for adequate funding, staffing support and clearer guidance on school food standards to ensure quality, sustainability and accessibility for all children.
Our vision
Every child should have the same opportunity to enjoy delicious, nutritious and sustainable school food no matter where they live, so they are ready to learn. A great school food culture means children leave school in better health, less at risk from food-related illness, and able to play a full and productive role in society.
The School Food Review is calling on the government to commit to a continual cycle of improvement to the school food system so every single child has the vital nutrition they need to reach their potential. To improve the system, there are three areas that must be considered: access, quality and funding.
- Equitable access to school meals: Every child should have access to hot, nutritious school meals. Commit to an ambitious long-term plan for the provision of school meals to all children, with an immediate extension of entitlement to those most in need of the benefits that healthy school meals offer.
- Quality of food provision: Ensure all school food is nutritious and sustainable. Update the school food standards to reflect the most recent dietary guidance and environmental considerations and roll out a nationwide monitoring system to support compliance.
- Fairer funding: Make it easy for school leaders, caterers and administrative staff to provide nutritious and sustainable food. Provide appropriate, fair and transparent school food funding for schools and caterers so that they pace with the rising costs and introduce automatic registration of all children eligible for free school meals.
Read the School Food Review policy position here.
Further papers
The School Food Review is governed by representatives from:
- School Food Matters
- Chefs in Schools
- Bite Back
- Food Foundation
- Sustain
The School Food Review membership consists of 38 organisations, including:
- Adopt A School
- ASCL
- Association for Public Service Excellence Scotland
- Association Professional Service Excellence
- Barnardo's
- BDA
- Bite Back
- Bremner & Co
- Chefs in Schools
- The Children’s Society
- Confederation of School Trusts
- Cookwise
- CPAG (Child Poverty Action Group)
- Eagle Solutions Services Limited
- Federation of Wholesale Distributors
- Food Foundation
- Food Sense Wales
- GLA (Greater London Authority)
- Impact on Urban Health
- Institute of School Business Leaders
- Jamie Oliver Group
- Magic Breakfast
- NAHT (The School Leaders' Union)
- National Governance Association
- NEU (National Education Union)
- Newham Council
- Northumbria University
- ProVeg UK
- Save the Children
- School Food Matters
- School of Artisan Food
- Soil Association
- Southwark Council
- Sustain
- The School Food People (LACA)
- UNISON
- University of Wolverhampton
- ZG Nutrition
Contact Us
If you are interested in learning more about the School Food Review, please contact Myles Bremner, School Food Review Senior Programme Manager, at myles@bremnerco.com