Price hikes forcing school caterers to cut portion sizes

In the last five years the education catering industry has seen substantial price hikes, some as high as 30%, affecting a range of items and services.  

BRITA Professional has carried out research among those who work in the sector to identify the biggest challenges within the supply chain and how education professionals are overcoming these to reduce the impact on businesses and employees.  
 
As part of BRITA’s Rely Chain campaign, the research revealed that when it comes to school meals, education caterers have faced notable challenges affecting supply chain reliability including rising costs/inflation (71%); labour shortages (51%); ingredient shortages (47%); undelivered or late orders (46%); and lack of funding (40%).
 
And, as a result, there has been a knock-on effect on other service elements. Sixty-six per cent say staff mental health has been impacted negatively. Forty-seven per cent say they have to use outdated or broken equipment, while 45 per cent are giving smaller portion sizes and 28 per cent have reduced wages or underpaid staff.
 
Faced with the most prominent challenges of surging expenses and labour and ingredient shortages, more than half of caterers confessed to making modifications to their menus.  

While 45 per cent of caterers have resorted to reducing portion sizes due to rising costs, they are still keeping with government guidelines.

However, schools and caterers remain unwavering in their commitment to not compromise on quality. Notably, the primary factor influencing their choice of suppliers is product quality, while supplier reputation ranks as the least important consideration.  
 
The research has also indicated that many education caterers have begun to explore solutions to improve supply chain reliability, such as working with local suppliers (51%), working with more suppliers to try and help avoid shortages and disruptions (49%), and investing in a school-grown vegetable garden to increase self-reliance (13%). This is due to 51% of education operators claiming that their suppliers have become slightly less reliable in the last five years.  
 
Chris Fay C.F.S.P, Business Account Manager at BRITA Professional, says: “When it comes to putting a plate of food on the table, education caterers have been confronted with some immense challenges in delivering nutritious and high-quality meals. Our research shows the far-reaching impact of rising costs, inflation, and supply chain issues and how caterers have had to clearly and quickly adapt by cutting portion sizes to ensure a limited impact on providing nutritious meals.  
 
“To support the industry, we’ve brought together insights and solutions from leaders from across the industry on the biggest challenges they’ve faced and how to overcome them, which can be viewed on our Rely Chain campaign page.”