Law & Policy Active Updated Sep 15, 2026

England's school food overhaul

Where it stands, Sep 15, 2026 England's updated school food standards, its first overhaul in more than a decade, make serving legumes alongside a main meal compulsory at least once a week starting next September, add fortified pea milk and vegan yogurt to permitted options, cap processed meat like sausages and bacon at once a week, and scrap the old mandatory three-portions-of-meat-per-week rule.

England updated its national school food standards for the first time in more than a decade, making legumes like beans and lentils compulsory in weekly school meals, adding fortified pea milk and vegan yogurt as permitted options, and capping processed meat at once a week. The fight now is whether schools actually implement the tightened requirements as they phase in and whether the overhaul reshapes what British children eat.