A new study by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) has found that around 300,000 out of 1.1 million children in the UK who qualify for FSM do not take them.
The research, Take-up of Free School Meals: Price effects and peer effects, found that there are two over-riding reasons.
In many schools lack of space means that children eating school dinners sit separately from those who bring packed lunches so pupils on FSM often have to sit apart from their friends.
The second factor is that some schools have cash payment systems and those entitled to FSM feel embarrassed at having to hand in vouchers instead.
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