Missing out on meals

28th August 2009, 1:00am

Almost a quarter of parents earning less than #163;16,000 a year do not know that their children are entitled to free school meals. As a result, they could be losing out on benefits of #163;700 a year, the School Food Trust claims. It estimates that 334,000 children who are entitled to free school meals are not receiving them. And six out of 10 of the 517 parents surveyed said they gave their children an average of #163;3 per day to cover the cost of lunch.

www.schoolfoodtrust.org.ukfsm.