Hunger, Health and Hope: A History of School Meals in Britain

'Hunger, Health and Hope: A History of School Meals in Britain'

Dr Heather Ellis (University of Sheffield)

Royal Historical Society public lecture at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 6pm, Wednesday 10 December 2025.

Manson Lecture Theatre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT

Part of the Society's joint visit to historians at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Institute of Education, UCL, 10 December.

About this lecture

What children eat at school has long been a matter of political debate, social concern, and everyday experience. Since the introduction of the School Meals Service in 1906, meals served in schools have been used to tackle malnutrition, reduce inequality, and promote social inclusion. They have also been the site of controversy, from free milk in the 1940s to Jamie Oliver’s campaign against Turkey Twizzlers, and today’s calls for universal free school meals.

Drawing on new research from the ESRC and AHRC-funded project The School Meals Service: Past, Present and Future, this lecture explores how policy, practice, and lived experience have shaped school dining across the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. With reference to new oral histories, archival evidence, and ethnographic studies in contemporary schools, the lecture highlights the emotional and sensory dimensions of mealtimes as well as their wider social and cultural meanings.

At stake is more than what children eat. School meals open a window onto questions of inequality, poverty, community, and the politics of care. By tracing the past and present of school food, the lecture shows how historical perspectives can illuminate contemporary debates about fairness, health, and childhood in Britain.

This is a public lecture which forms part of the Society's visit to historians at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Institute of Education, UCL, on Wednesday 10 December.

All are very welcome to attend the lecture, in the Manson Lecture Theatre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, and which is followed by a drinks reception.

About the speaker

Heather Ellis is Associate Professor in the History of Education at the University of Sheffield. She is currently Co-Investigator on the ESRC/AHRC-funded project The School Meals Service: Past, Present and Future (2023–25). A historian of education and childhood, her research combines archival and oral history approaches to explore how policy and lived experience intersect in schooling and welfare.

Heather has written widely on the cultural and social history of education, childhood, and inequality. Recently she has collaborated on a two-year exhibition on the history of school meals at the Food Museum in Stowmarket which opened in April 2025. She is also Co-editor of the journal History of Education.

The Royal Historical Society visit to the Institute of Education, UCL, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

On 10 December 2025, members of the Society's Council will be visiting historians at two London institutions, the Institute of Education and the London School of ygiene and Tropical Medicine, to learn more about their work and to discuss topics of interest and concern.

This visit one of several such events taking place in 2025 and early 2026. Other visits include to the Cornwall Campus of the University of Exeter (22 May 2025), the University of Aberdeen (17-18 September 2025), University of Suffolk, Ipswich (22 October 2025), Sheffield Hallam University (18 February 2026). Further visits and public lectures for 2026 will be announced shortly.

Each visit includes a public guest lecture, with further details of these events - open to all - from the Society's Events pages.

Supporting and Joining the Royal Historical Society

The Royal Historical Society is a learned society with charitable status, working to support historians and history. It receives no government funding and relies on income from membership subscriptions, sales of selected publications and voluntary donations.

If you would like to make a small donation to the Royal History Society, to support this and future events, please visit our Support Us page. Thank you.

If you are interested in joining the Royal Historical Society, please see the Join Us page of our website. The Society welcomes applications from all kinds of historians and those interested in history. Its membership options include Fellowship, Associate Fellowship, Membership and Postgraduate Membership for MA and PhD students.