Singer Zayn Malik published an open letter Tuesday on Instagram in which he urged Britains new prime minister, Rishi Sunak , to expand the governments free school meals program and reminded Sunak that 800,000 children in poverty currently dont qualify for it.

The former One Direction singer highlighted the current cost of living crisis and asked Sunak to ensure no child living in poverty misses out on a hot nutritious meal at school by expanding the benefit in Sunaks November budget to include children in all households receiving Britains Universal Credit subsidy.

These children are suffering from a lack of concentration, some even resorting to stealing food from school canteens because they are so hungry but cant afford to buy lunch, wrote Malik. They are also feeling shame which is directly impacting their physical and mental health.

I know what that shame feels like, the 29-year-old continued, I have seen it first-hand, as growing up in Bradford, I relied on Free School Meals. I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now.

Universal Credit, a monthly or bimonthly payment from the government enacted in 2012, subsidizes low-income households, the unemployed and disabled people who cant work, according to the U.K. government . Its comparable to unemployment benefits in the U.S.