For the past 10 years the issue of food and nutrition and in particular the question of food in schools has sat at the heart of the Company’s philanthropic giving, with the Company’s Charitable Trust supporting charities working to improve children’s access to healthy, nutritious food, strengthen food education, and drive lasting improvements in school food provision and policy.
This September, 500,000 more families have become eligible for Free School Meals following the government’s decision to open access to all families receiving Universal Credit. Previously, families had to have an income of under £7,400 to access Free School Meals, with the result that many working families on low incomes struggled to afford nutritious school lunches for their children. This development is expected to save families up to £500 each year and follows the national roll out of free breakfast clubs, which began in April 2026.
Today – 14th September 2026 – the government has also announced long-awaited proposed updates to the school food standards. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the updated school food standards will take effect from September 2027 and will bring in a number of major changes designed to tackle childhood obesity, improve nutrition and support children’s concentration, learning and wellbeing. Examples of planned changes include a minimum of one portion of fruit and vegetables in all dishes and a reduction in the permitted weekly servings of sweetened desserts and processed meats and in levels of salt and sugar. Schools will be required to publish a school food policy and menus on their websites and to appoint a lead governor for school food. Crucially, schools will also have their adherence to the standards monitored as part of arrangements set to be developed alongside the Food Standards Agency.
This welcome focus on healthier school food for all and on policies to make this finally a reality follows years of collaborative effort by many, including two charities which have been supported by the Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust (FCCT), Chefs in Schools and School Food Matters.
Both charities are now working as part of a major coalition, The School Food Project, in partnership with the Food Foundation, the Jamie Oliver Coalition and Bite Back. As part of its work, the School Food Project is working intensively with 20 schools across London and the North West to improve their school food offer and to embed a whole school approach to food. These schools will act as beacons to other local schools, helping them to prepare for the roll out of the new school food standards.
In parallel, the Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust is also funding School Food Matters to continue collaborative work around improving food and nutrition education in school as part of the review of the national curriculum.
The School Food Project and the new school food standards were discussed on Radio 4’s Today programme on 14th September. On the programme, School Food Matters’ Founder and Chief Executive, Stephanie Slater MBE said: ‘It’s a really exciting moment for school food…because change takes time, one of the things we want to see is children trying new foods and developing their palates so that they start exploring new vegetables, beans, pulses and just a vast array of new tastes and flavours.” Click here and fast forward to1 hour 22 minutes to listen.
The Fishmongers’ Company is proud to have supported both Chefs in Schools and School Food Matters, and is delighted to see years of charitable investment in better food and nutrition helping to shape a future in which every child has access to healthier food, better food education and greater opportunities to thrive.
© The Fishmongers’ Company 2026
