Today is International Schools Meal Day

09 March 2023

The day aims to raise awareness of good nutrition for all children, regardless of their circumstances and this year’s theme is ‘Our changing food – methods, menus and meals’.

In Wales, all primary school children in Wales will get free school meals by 2024 in a mission to tackle child poverty and ensure that no child goes hungry in school.

In November 2022, The Vale of Glamorgan Council was recognised for its ‘Exceptional commitment to the safeguarding of children’ at the recent Cardiff and Vale Safeguarding Board Recognition Awards.

After the Vale recorded the highest Free School Meal uptake in Wales during September and October 2022, our Eligible Free School Meals Team (EFSM) proudly took the award for ‘Exceptional commitment to the safeguarding of children’ at the awards.

In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, a very small group of officers voluntarily took it upon themselves to ensure that free school meals, whether in the form food deliveries, payments or supermarket vouchers, were delivered to pupils eligible for free school meals.

The team acted quickly and managed to secure the first 2,000 supermarket vouchers in just the first two weeks of the pandemic.

Three years on, the work of the Vale’s EFSM team continues to be instrumental in supporting our vulnerable families.

You can find more information about Free School Meals in the Vale of Glamorgan on our online Cost-of-living support hub.