London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to assist Jewish schools in providing hot kosher meals for their students by allocating additional funding to all London schools. The announcement,

made on Friday, includes an extra £5 million investment to help schools meet the dietary requirements of students with religious needs. This commitment supplements the existing £130 million fund aimed at ensuring free school meals for 270,000 primary school children across the capital starting from September.

The decision follows concerns raised by several Jewish schools in north London, who have been struggling to afford kosher meals due to increasing costs and the withdrawal of specialist catering services. One catering company supplying schools in the Barnet borough even ceased operations, leaving schools to request parents either provide packed lunches or contribute towards a cold, pre-packaged meal.

Sadiq Khan emphasized the importance of free school meals and expressed his determination to support families in need. He stated, "By ensuring children don't go hungry in the classroom and helping their families, we can build a better and more prosperous city for all Londoners."

Khan's spokesperson further explained that an additional £5 million contingency fund has been set aside to cover extraordinary costs associated with the provision of free school meals in the upcoming academic year. This fund will include support for kosher meals, and the Mayor's team is collaborating closely with boroughs to ensure its effective implementation and address any emerging challenges.

While the government already provides funding for free school meals for children in state schools up to year 2, this allocation falls short of covering the cost of providing hot kosher meals. Moreover, schools must offer free meals to families on low incomes based on government criteria. The Mayor's new fund will subsidize meals for older infants.

The London Jewish Forum's co-chair, Andrew Gilbert, welcomed the announcement as a significant step in the right direction. He praised the collaborative efforts of the forum, Rabbi Joel Sager of Pardes House Primary, the education department at Barnet Council, and the GLA free school meals team in addressing the issues and finding solutions.

Gilbert highlighted the ongoing need for government response, particularly regarding key stage one, and emphasized the importance of continued cooperation between the community, schools, and parents to ensure the success of the initiative. The forum is working alongside Jewish educational groups and London boroughs to determine the additional funding required to cover the cost of kosher meals in schools.

Barnet councillors have been engaged in intensive discussions with Sadiq Khan's team to address the matter. Labour councillor Anne Clarke, who also serves as the London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, acknowledged the progress made but acknowledged that finding a kosher catering provider for all state Jewish schools still remains a challenge. Photo by Philafrenzy, Wikimedia commons.