History
The 1944 Education Act made it an entitlement for pupils to receive a free school meal. This entitlement was scaled back in 1949 when a flat charge of 2.5 pence was introduced. Over the next thirty years this flat fee was gradually increased, until in 1980, legislation was introduced to remove the requirement for Local Education Authorities to provide a meal for every pupil. Since that date, authorities have been obliged only to provide a meal to those pupils who are eligible for a free meal.
Before this, the Liberal Government of Britain introduced measures which gave power for local councils to give free meals for children from poor families in 1906. By 1914, over 158,000 children were fed free meals once everyday. However, the number was low in comparison with all the other poor children who needed free meals. In 2004 14.3% of pupils in English schools were eligible for Free School Meals
Read more about this topic: Free School Meal
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)