Philippa Gregory: Author backs hot school meal campaign in village

Philippa Gregory called on the government to lower the threshold for free school meals

Historical novelist Philippa Gregory is supporting a campaign to fund hot school meals for children in her village in Leicestershire.

Gregory said she was shocked to be told there were some struggling to afford school meals or nutritious packed lunches in "affluent" Old Dalby.

It prompted her to help set up a group of campaigners, who have raised £7,000 since May.

They have been thanked by the local school.

The money raised, through donations from local businesses and residents, has been helping to pay for hot school meals for about 20 children a week.

Gregory, who moved to Old Dalby three years ago, told the BBC: "When I moved in, I asked my neighbour, Shanti Patman, if there was hunger at the primary school, because we were aware that post-Covid, children had not been eating well.

"She and I went round to the school to ask the headmistress how it was and the answer was really shocking.

"We discovered an extraordinary story which was, although the village looks very prosperous and affluent from the outside, there were about 15 children who were eating packed lunches that weren't nutritious enough - didn't have enough protein - and that they were eating cold lunches in the cold winter months.

"She said she could see the effect that was having on their work and the sport they were doing in the afternoon."

The bestselling writer said she was inspired by footballer Marcus Rashford's campaigning

Gregory, who said she was inspired by England footballer Marcus Rashford's campaigning against food poverty, added: "We just started asking our neighbours in the village, who are reasonably well off, to make a contribution and they responded how we hoped they would, like a village taking responsibility for its own."

Gregory, who has written bestselling books about England's Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties, said the money raised initially paid for meals for 15 pupils, but is now funding food for 20.

"The problem is getting a little worse," she said. "But what we have raised is still covering it."

It costs about £200 a term to pay for a hot daily meal for a child and the money raised is passed to the school's head teacher Rosie Browne, who does not disclose the identity of those it helps.

Mrs Browne said: "We are really grateful to all the fundraisers, and it is great to have Philippa among them. She has kept her involvement very low-key until now, but everyone deserves real thanks for their efforts."

Children from households that earn more than £7,400 a year do not get free school meals, but Gregory called on the government to lower the threshold.

She said: "To me, it makes no sense to spend money on anything before we make sure children have enough food."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We understand the pressures many households are facing, which is why we have more than doubled the number of children eligible for free school meals, with 2.1m more children receiving them compared to 2010.

"We have also put further protections in place to ensure children who need them can continue to access free school meals, even if household circumstances change."