Scotland's colleges providing over 15,500 free meals to students every week to combat food poverty

Scotland's colleges are providing 15,500 free meals to students every week, according to new research published today by Colleges Scotland.

The report underlines colleges’ critical role in supporting students through the cost-of-living crisis and providing practical solutions to tackle poverty in communities across the country.

The research found that approximately 3,100 free meals are received by students every day through breakfast and lunch programmes operating in colleges across Scotland.

At Forth Valley College in addition to the free breakfast and lunch which are offered to students the College also offer a service called ‘FVC to Go’. The teams in FVC’s refectories portion all unsold foods from that day’s menu in the Refectories and make them available free of charge to any student on a first come first serve basis. 

The products range from any hot food from the day or sandwiches and salads out of date on the day. FVC offers this to reduce food waste, but also as a further support to reduce food poverty within the student population.

The findings come from a survey of 20 colleges, representing around 86% of Scotland's college students. Many colleges are also operating food banks, student pantries, clothing banks and wider support services for learners and their families.

The findings demonstrate the increasingly important role colleges play as community anchors, not only supporting learning and skills development but also helping to tackle the wider impacts of poverty, by providing practical support to learners from low-income households and improving educational participation.

Gavin Donoghue, CEO of Colleges Scotland, said: "Colleges are often a first line of defence against poverty. We believe that no students should be trying to learn while hungry, which is why colleges are increasingly stepping in to provide access to free food for their students.

“Colleges see first-hand the challenges many learners and families are facing, so are responding to hunger and food poverty in a dignified way by providing free breakfast and lunch on campus. They are also giving students an additional layer of protection with on-campus food banks, clothing banks, and access to a very wide range of other anti-poverty initiatives.

“By supporting learners from some of the country's most disadvantaged communities, colleges contribute directly to the Scottish Government's ambitions to eradicate child poverty and break the cycles of deprivation.”

Previous research from the 2022 Thriving Learners study found that one in six college students live in a household that had run out of food in the previous year, while food insecurity has been closely linked to poorer mental health outcomes.

In the upcoming academic year for 2026/27 colleges in Scotland will support thousands of people to gain new opportunities to learn, earn and thrive as a result of £21 million of new, targeted investment in colleges and skills, through investment from the Scottish Government. The funding will create opportunities so that people in or at risk of poverty will receive additional support to train, to help them enter stable, well-paid work or progress in their career, through the Raising Income through Skills and Education (RISE) Fund, the Training Access Fund, and the Flexible Workforce Development Fund