Y-PERN Policy Fellow Dr Rebecca Kerr co-authors the qualitative evaluation of City of York Council’s ‘York Hungry Minds’ pilot, finding wide-ranging benefits for children, families and schools.
A new evaluation of City of York Council’s “York Hungry Minds” Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) pilot has found compelling evidence of positive impacts on children’s education, wellbeing and in easing some family finances.
The report, presented in December 2025 for the City of York Council, was co-authored by Y-PERN Policy Fellow Dr Rebecca Kerr alongside colleagues Dr Aniela Wenham, Dr Katherine Smith and Professor John Hudson at the University of York and supported by the university’s Cost of Living Research Group. It evaluates the pilot at two York city primary schools – Westfield Community Primary School, offering universal free lunches, and Burton Green Primary School, offering universal free breakfasts.
Launched in January 2024 with approximately £100,000 of Council funding, the pilot aims to provide all primary school children at the two schools with a free school meal a day, removing means-testing to reach children in poverty while eliminating the stigma often associated with free school meal provision.
Dr Rebecca Kerr said: “What this evaluation shows is that universal free school meals deliver more than food. The evidence points to improvements in attendance, behaviour, concentration and wellbeing.”
The full report is available here
