Are Northern Ireland children eating worse? – The Irish News

When returning to the classroom after the Christmas holidays, students across Northern Ireland were met with school meals up to 19% more expensive than those they were eating in 2025.

The change sparked outcry from some parents, who argued their children were being excluded from healthy, nutritious meals during their school day.

But, this price hike is only part of the problem facing school-aged kids across Northern Ireland. They are fighting through an increasingly difficult food environment, and the impacts are widespread.

In 2025, over a quarter of Northern Ireland’s Primary 1 students were categorised as overweight or obese: the highest rate for the age group in the UK.

The main cause behind this is the poor food environment surrounding schools and their pupils across the country.

The current situation can be referred to as a ‘Food Swamp’; an area defined by an overwhelming abundance of convenience and unhealthy food options.

According to a study from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) published in recent months, Northern Ireland has 2.4 times more fast food outlets than grocers who offer healthy alternatives.

This issue is exaggerated for students, particularly those of secondary-school age.

Studies from the FSA and the National Diet and Nutrition Survey show that those aged 11-18 are the highest consumers of chips, fried foods and high-sugar confectionery.

Dr Bridin Nally is a Nutrition Science Adviser at the FSA and co-authored much of the research.

Speaking to The Irish News, Dr Nally outlined her concerns for the diets of young people and why so many of them are oversaturated with unhealthy options.

She said: “It’s such a complex issue and there are so many things at play, but I think there are major improvements needed to the food environment in general.

“It shouldn’t be up to consumers alone to eat healthily and do all the right things without the support around them.

“I think that the fact that nearly one in five students had five or more [fast food outlets] within that radius, which is meant to be sort of equivalent to a five-minute walk. It’s a bit shocking.”

With policy developments, there are hopes that this issue could be stopped at its root, with a restriction on the types of businesses that are permitted to be built in close proximity to a school.

Beyond this, there are hopes that Northern Ireland can follow the example of England and Wales in introducing tighter regulation on how shops can promote foods with high fat and sugar content, concerning placement within an aisle and selling them at discount prices.

“This research is really just a good starting point for us to see what is going on and we’re hoping that this data can inform the policy in terms of restricting the promotions of high-salt foods,” Dr Nally added.

But preventing the cheaper sale of convenience and unhealthy snack options may also have harmful consequences.

Low-quality, highly saturated food options are becoming more widespread thanks to their low production costs and the ease of large-scale manufacturing.

Artificial processes that pack food full of chemicals are cheap, and they pass on lower prices to consumers.

For many shoppers, an increasingly tight budget and mounting financial pressures mean that these unhealthy choices are quickly becoming the only one.

Those rising food costs are being felt at home and in schools.

One principal in the Newry and Armagh area, who preferred not to be identified, spoke about the difficult choices school canteens face to maintain a fair menu for all pupils.

“Technically, we could just keep jacking the price up,” they said, “But ethically, we don’t want to do that. And also we have a proportion of our students who are entitled to free school meals.

“So we have to be very aware of no one being stigmatised or putting on a menu that’s affordable to only some.”

The government allowance for free school meals is £3.20, a figure which recently rose for the first time in five years. This means that to make sure every student has the same choice for their midday meal, all available options have to come under that price threshold.

Unsurprisingly, the easiest meals to feed hundreds of students with are highly processed, and highly popular.

The principal added: “At the minute, our option really is to sort of put prices up or sell stuff that is not really healthy. That’s the pressure on us.”

SDLP councillor Paul Doherty is the founder of a charity called FoodStock, which provides healthy meals to school-aged children across west Belfast.

This service, which is entirely funded and organised by local community efforts, has seen increased demand alongside the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

He said: “Parents are being priced out of the food that’s keeping their children healthy.

“As grocery bills continue to mount, parents are unable to maintain a shopping trolley filled with fruit and veg, and turn to charities such as FoodStock to help them provide their children with a well-rounded diet that can help their development and learning during the school day.

“But small-scale, community-led programmes are struggling to keep up with national demand of this level and feel they cannot fight this challenge alone.

“Stormont really needs to step up, and address [the issue]. The top line is that access to healthy food should be a basic human right for all.”