Free school meals will be offered to all primary school pupils across London for a year under plans by Sadiq Khan.
The move will come into force from September, which is a subsidy of £440 for every child of 270,000 children, City Hall estimates.
The mayor, who himself received free school meals as a boy, said he hoped the move would help “reduce the stigma that can be associated with being singled out as low-income” and boost take-up among families who needed the help most.
“The cost of living crisis means families and children across our city are in desperate need of additional support,” Khan said, before a visit to his old school, Fircroft primary in Tooting, south London.
“I have repeatedly urged the government to provide free school meals to help already stretched families, but they have simply failed to act.”
Khan said he knew “from personal experience that free school meals are a lifeline”, as his parents relied on them to give his family “a little extra breathing room financially”, and free meals could be “gamechanging” for others struggling to make ends meet.
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