Two children live on the same road. They go to the same school, queue at the same holiday club door. One gets in. The other doesn't, because her mum picked up extra shifts this year and now earns a few pounds over a threshold nobody thought to check first.
From September 2026, 500,000 more children in England become eligible for free school meals, because their family receives Universal Credit. It's a welcome change. But the government has also decided that these same children will not be eligible for the Holiday Activities and Food programme, known as HAF, the scheme that provides free meals, enrichment activities and childcare during school holidays.
A child judged to need a free lunch on a Tuesday in term time is being judged not to need one six weeks later in August. For families already stretching every pound, that gap means unpaid childcare costs stacking up, and children missing out on meals, activities and time with friends that their own classmates still get. Staff at one HAF club in Merseyside describe children arriving at their door “absolutely starving”.
Feeding Britain, the national charity that led the original campaign to create HAF, is petitioning the government to keep the link between free school meal eligibility and HAF access. We're backing that call, and asking you to do two things.
Email your MP
Copy the text below, personalise it if you'd like, and send it using the link at the bottom of this page.
Dear MP's name,
I'm writing as a supporter of North Bristol & South Glos Foodbank about a change to the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) that I believe is unfair.
From September 2026, 500,000 more children will become eligible for free school meals because their family receives Universal Credit. Under current government plans, these same children will not be eligible for HAF, the programme that provides free meals, activities and childcare during school holidays.
A child judged to need a free meal in term time should be judged to need one in the holidays too. Removing that link leaves children the government has just recognised as being in need, without support for six weeks of the summer, and shorter breaks throughout the year. It also creates unnecessary cost and confusion for HAF providers, who will now have to re-check the eligibility of children who've already been attending, simply because the rules no longer match.
I'd urge you to raise this with the Department for Education and support keeping the link between free school meal eligibility and access to HAF.
Thank you for your time.
Your name
Find your MP and send this email at www.writetothem.com.
