School meals need a new deal before Budget, warn APSE and The School Food People

71% of people who answered a survey question were not confident their service could keep going financially. The reported cost of providing a meal is often higher than its price. 

School meal services are under growing financial pressure, according to new analysis from APSE and The School Food People. 

In a survey, 71% of people who answered a question about the future said they were not confident their school meal service would still be able to afford to keep running in three years. 

The research also 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. 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. 

Ahead of the Budget on 28 October, APSE, which works with councils on public services, and The School Food People, a national organisation for people and businesses involved in school catering, are asking the Government to fund the real cost of meals and invest in the kitchens and staff needed to provide them. 

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. 

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.” 

Mo Baines, APSE Chief Executive, said “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. 

Baines added “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”. 

Report author Vickie Hacking said “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. 

Read the full report here