Prue Leith says she wants a “revolution” in school food and is calling for stronger measures, including banning lunchboxes in schools. She argues that school meals should become the default option for pupils rather than relying on packed lunches.
The comments come as England expands eligibility for free school meals: from September, all pupils from families on universal credit will qualify. Leith’s broader proposals also include making free school meals available to every child and making the meals compulsory, according to reports. Sources frame her stance as more than incremental change, positioning it alongside ongoing policy moves that widen access to free meals.
While outlets vary in emphasis—some highlight the lunchbox ban idea and others focus more on the wider drive to universal, compulsory free school meals—they collectively report the same core message: Leith supports major reform to how children eat at school and points to the impending expansion of free school meal eligibility in England as part of the context.
