The Food Foundation commissioned Public First to conduct consumer polling across three regions in the North of England to explore residents’ views towards free school meal extension, particularly in light of the Mayor of London’s decision to extend the city’s free school meal programme for a further year.

We found widespread support for free school meal extension, with respondents agreeing that the policy was important to help children perform well at school, and to reduce poverty. Overall, respondents said they would be supportive of their local Metro Mayors pursuing a similar policy to the Mayor of London’s free school meal programme.

Polling Tables

Public First conducted regional polling for the Food Foundation from the 8th March to 23rd March 2024. We surveyed 500 respondents in Yorkshire, 501 respondents in the Liverpool City Region, and 501 respondents in the West Midlands Combined Authority through an anonymous online survey, asking respondents about their views towards targeted free school meal extension in their areas.

All results are weighted using iterative proportional fitting, or ‘raking’. Results are weighted by interlocking age and gender and social grade to be representative of the areas targeted. Public First is a member of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abides by its rules. For more information, please contact the Public First Polling Team: polling@publicfirst.co.uk

You can download the polling tables here:

Liverpool City Region Results Tables
West Midlands Combined Authority Results Tables
Yorkshire Results Tables