The Universal Infant Free School Meal policy has led to children consuming fewer ultra-processed foods at lunchtime. This change is mainly due to a reduction in pre-packaged items typically found in lunches brought from home.
Children from low-income households eating school meals experience the greatest benefits from the policy. They consume nearly a fifth less ultra-processed food at lunch, both in terms of weight and calories.
Despite these improvements, school meals still contain substantial amounts of ultra-processed foods. Enhancing the nutritional quality of school meals provided and encouraging school meal uptake could maximise the benefits of the policy.
View: https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-024-01656-w