Westminster council plans £2m programme to feed 14,000 kids school meals
By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter
A Central London council wants to offer free school meals to 14,000 hungry kids.
Westminster city council is ploughing in £2million to cover meals for kids aged three to 14.
The programme – which is expected to run into July next year – will feed pupils across the borough, and was approved during a council meeting last night.
Another £14million will help families cover the cost of school uniforms and activities for kids during the holidays.
Councillor Adam Hug, leader of Westminster city council, said: “We want to take some pressure away from families at a time when we know they are already struggling.
Westminster city council leader Adam Hug (Picture: Westminster City council)
“Some parents go without to fill a lunchbox with whatever is left in the cupboard – however meagre – to ensure their child has something to eat at school.
“It cannot be right that children in one of the richest cities on earth are being left to make do with scraps. We need to see equality built into the system for future generations.”
He said he was proud that his administration could feed 14,000 Westminster kids with a nutritious lunch in a programme set to launch in September.
He addded: “I want Westminster to be a place where children can sit down together in the canteen without the anxiety and stigma of who can afford to eat.
“That lunch may now be free for those children, but we think the impact it can have on their well-being and life chances could be priceless.”
The programme will run alongside the Government and Sadiq Khan’s free school meals offer.
The meals will be given to kids based on the grounds of affordability and will also be extended to two-year-olds who currently access the Free Early Education Entitlement from Westminster City.
The council also confirmed a freeze on its portion of council tax and a two per cent rise in the Adult Social Care fee, which will add an extra £9 annually to Band D household budgets. The total will now be £477.91.
Pictured top: Westminster city council leader Adam Hug with school kids (Picture: Westminster City council)
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