According to new research, school meal services are under growing financial pressure, with 71% of catering providers who responded to a survey stating they were not confident their service could keep going financially in three years’ time.
The research from APSE and The School Food People found found that a primary school meal was usually priced at £2.75 to £3.20, while the estimated cost of providing it was commonly £3.25 to £4.25 and sometimes more. The reported cost of providing a meal is often higher than its price.
To cover shortfalls, respondents cited subsidies from schools (59%), higher meal prices (37%), changes to menus or portions (26%), council subsidies (19%) and reducing staff numbers (15%) as solutions.
That full cost includes more than just the food: it can also include staff pay, energy, transport, kitchen equipment and meeting food standards. The survey answers did not match up closely enough to calculate one exact funding gap across the sector.
Brad Pearce, chair of The School Food People, said: “School caterers want to serve healthy, appealing meals and meet higher standards. But many cannot keep making up the shortfall through subsidies, fewer staff or changes to menus. Funding has to cover what it really costs to provide a meal.”
The School Food People are asking the Government to fund the real cost of meals and invest in the kitchens and staff needed to provide them.
Among respondents, 89% said school meals help reduce child poverty, 75% linked them to better learning, 50% said they provide local jobs, 39% linked them to reducing childhood obesity and 32% said they support the wider local economy.
Mo Baines, APSE chief executive, added: “School meals are a much-loved local public service yet unlike other public services they are forced to operate almost on a commercial footing. This model does not reflect the social, health and economic value of the school meals service.
“Subsidy for school meals make sense because it is a service that directly contributes to the health and wellbeing of children, addresses the cost-of-living issues for hard-pressed families, provides local employment and addresses child poverty.”
The report describes local services that have closed or needed emergency help. In Plymouth and Leicestershire, council-backed meal services have closed. In Surrey, the Twelve15 service was rescued after the number of schools it served fell from 160 to 49.
Report author Vickie Hacking commented: “For too many years school meals have been under-valued and under-funded. If we allow the decline in public sector caterers and small providers to continue then, as we are now seeing in social care, we risk a market led profit model to take a hold of the sector. Profit before people in this vital local public service is simply unacceptable.”
The briefing calls for funding that keeps pace with rising costs, investment in kitchens and equipment, support to recruit and train staff, regular checks that meals meet national rules, and a fair way to choose providers that considers quality and reliability as well as price.
