Students in secondary schools across England remain reliant on unhealthy food amid ongoing commercialization, weak accountability, and inaccessible prices. A recent report by the network Bite Back examines how these intersecting factors are affecting children’s nutrition, calling on the government to revise existing standards and ensure students can access real, nutritious food.

Read more: Ultra-processed food dominates child nutrition in the UK

The report found that a significant number of secondary school students still opt for “grab-and-go” items over full school meals. These predominantly carbohydrate-based options, such as pastries and chips, mostly fall short of existing nutritional standards. But while the food industry often argues that students reach for these items based on individual preference, the report and students themselves warn that choice is largely driven by convenience and price.

Grab-and-go items are consistently the least expensive option available in schools. The report found that in some institutions, the cheapest main meal can cost nearly five times as much as the cheapest grab-and-go item. This pricing structure makes processed snacks more accessible to students on free school meals, implying a disproportionate health – and thus education – impact on children from working-class families. According to the report, 56% of students on free school meals relied on grab-and-go options for lunch at least 3–4 times per week, compared to 36% of students not involved in the program.

This disparity should not be attributed to different food preferences, the report insists. “Only one in three survey respondents felt grab-and-go leaves them with enough energy to concentrate in lessons, and multiple focus group participants reported feeling hunger, fatigue and loss of focus later in the day,” Bite Back wrote.

Read more: Industry remains biggest barrier to tackling ultra-processed food harm

The prominence of unhealthy options is the result of several factors: rising food costs, policy choices that have failed to shield the education sector, and a food system driven largely by profit-seeking – with secondary school students identified as a promising commercial market and referred to as “customers.”

“Grab-and-go food and drinks are attractive to suppliers and caterers because they deliver higher profit margins and make up a large share of total sales,” the report notes. “Healthy foods tend to be expensive to produce but high-calorie, nutrient-poor snacks, often sold two or three times across a school day, are cheaper and sell well.”

Or, as one interviewee summarized: “The commercial pressures aren’t to serve wonderfully fresh, healthy food. It’s to serve junk because there’s money in it.”

With the government preparing to expand free school meals, campaigners are calling for clearer accountability guidelines and measures to help schools shape food programs around health and nutrition recommendations. Bite Back has also urged action to curb commercial incentives favoring unhealthy options, investment in canteen infrastructure, and adequate funding for free school meals.

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