SCHOOLCHILDREN in London are sharing their lunch with friends so they don’t have to go hungry, a student campaigner has told the Morning Star. 

Phoebe Stott, 16, who lives in the south-east London borough of Lewisham, says she often shares her lunch with friends who are not eligible for free school meals. 

The sixth form student says she is seeing the devastating impact of food poverty in her school amid the cost-of-living crisis, with some students forced to ask their peers in the canteen for money to buy snacks or go without food completely. 

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“It’s affecting their school work as well because they feel more tired, they don’t want to do anything in class and it sets them back a lot in school.”

The 16-year-old, who does qualify for free school meals, argues the eligibility criteria are too narrow and leave children going hungry. 

“Meals are still needed for all kids whether their families have more money or not,” she said.

“My friend only has a couple pounds higher than the eligibility needed and he can’t afford food all the time.” 

Free school meals are currently provided to all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 across Britain. 

However children who need free school meals after the age of seven can only access them if their families qualify for a range of benefits and earn less than £7,400 a year. 

It’s estimated that around 800,000 children living in poverty in England are not eligible for free school meals, according to figures from the Child Poverty Action Group. 

After seeing her friends go hungry because of the policy, Phoebe now campaigns for universal free school meals with the London Right to Food group. 

“I’ve always thought it was a political choice to make certain types of groups starve, but seeing the impact it’s had on my friends really brought it into perspective,” she explained. 

“All of a sudden they can’t eat because their mum didn’t give them food because she didn’t have enough money to pay the rent, the bills and then food at school.”

She added: “I think it should be a right for kids to have food. They always say children are the future, but by taking away that option for food it’s kind of robbing the future of a better, more successful, more thriving community.”

The shocking stories of food poverty inside London schools amid the cost-of-living crisis come as grassroots campaigners kick-start a wave of protests to demand action on the critical issue. 

Last Saturday, more than 100 people gathered in Lewisham to raise awareness of rising hunger in the borough. 

The rally was the first in a series of “hunger marches” due to take place later this year, organised by the London Right to Food campaign.

Rally organiser Anne Williams, who has volunteered in food banks for the past 10 years, told the Morning Star that the level of need they are seeing among all ages is “absolutely abhorrent.” 

“There are 43 food banks in Lewisham,” she said. “Why? That in itself is disgusting, there should be no food banks.

“Our kids should be nourished, simple. They will learn better, their emotional mental wellbeing, everything. It is fundamentally wrong that people are deprived of that.”

The campaign is calling for universal free school meals for children, who currently face a “postcode lottery,” with just four boroughs offering the help to all students. 

London Right to Food organiser Sharon Noonen-Gunning said access to emergency food across the capital is also patchy. “The concept of feeding all in need just isn’t there, it varies area to area so it needs to be evened out,” she told the Star. 

The campaign is calling for a London-wide strategy from City Hall to organise the provision of food across the capital, including free school meals for all primary and secondary students.