Thousands miss out on free school meals due to their disability

DESPERATE parents are turning to food banks because their disabled children are not getting free school lunches, a charity has said.

- Emily Braeger

More than 100,000 youngsters with conditions like diabetes, epilepsy and autism are entitled to the meals. But they miss out because they are not educated in a formal setting or have severely restrictive diets.

Their families, among the hardest hit by the cost-of-living squeeze, are losing out on financial help worth around £570 a year, according to disability charity Contact.