Young and Hungry

Abstract

This article evaluates school meal policies in the UK and Ireland as a means to ensure the fulfilment of children’s right to food, as protected under international law. It adopts a comparative approach, assessing the varying strategies adopted across the two jurisdictions and their challenges. Whilst new developments, including the recent expansion of both hot meal provision in Ireland and universal free school meals in Wales and Scotland, are welcomed, the article argues that school meal policies across the UK and Ireland need to be radically rehauled if they are to make any headway in the realisation of children’s right to food.