Colum Eastwood MP, Zarah Sultana MP and Claire Hanna MP at the recent launch of the ‘Free School Meals for All Bill’
Said the Foyle MP: “The levels of food poverty in Northern Ireland has only worsened as the cost of living has increased.
“Last year, data from the Family Resources Survey showed that one in 10 children in Northern Ireland live in a “food insecure” household, with research from the Joseph Rowntree foundation showing rates of poverty in the North are highest in Derry City and Strabane (22%).
“Free school meals ensure that thousands of children in Derry and across the North get a hot, healthy meal each day.
“But as families here struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, some children will have to go to school hungry.
“This failure lies squarely at the feet of those who continue to hold you back.
“I’m proud to support this bill so that free school meals will be extended to more primary school children.
“This year the SDLP called for the Free School Meal Payment Scheme’s relaunch for the remainder of the year so that families with school-age children can offset rising food costs.
“For a family with two children, this scheme would directly provide £108 per month to their bank account.
“Given that we have an absentee government in Northern Ireland, the British government must do all in its power to ensure that no child will be forced to learn on an empty stomach.”
