Heads are being forced to have discussions with caterers about the size of school meals, as rising prices are pushing providers to look at different cost-cutting approaches to serving lunchtime food.
Andrew Selley, chief executive of Bidfood - one of the UK’s biggest food wholesalers - warned yesterday that school caterers may have to serve smaller portions, or use cheaper ingredients, in order to counter ratcheting costs.
And speaking today on BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme, Peter McQuillen-Strong, headteacher at Holy Family Primary School in Leeds, said that he was having to have conversations with caterers about the size of school meals to ensure that children “have more than one potato or more than four chips”.
Also on the programme, Lucie Lakin, headteacher at Carr Manor School in Leeds, said school leaders were “torn between decisions around pupil welfare and pupil learning” when trying to manage their budgets.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Selley said that baked goods were currently up to 30 per cent more expensive owing to rising wheat prices, which are also due to affect the prices of pasta, eggs and chicken.
The price of sunflower oil has also soared after being pushed higher by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest food oil exporters.
Heads have previously spoken to Tes about rising catering costs, with Pepe Di’Iasio, headteacher at Wales High School in Rotherham, saying last month that catering costs at his school had risen by around 10 per cent, and could continue to rise.
Speaking about the decisions facing heads at the moment, Mr McQuillen-Strong said: “Our cook was telling us that the cost of chicken is vastly going up at the moment and they’re really worried they won’t be able to find white meat in the way they have previously.
“The only wiggle room catering agencies do have is in the portion size that they give to the children. We have had to talk to our cook and talk to our catering agency about making sure [pupils] have more than one potato or more than four chips, because the catering agency are doing the best they can.”
Ms Lakin added that school leaders were “constantly” torn about decisions over pupil welfare and learning.
But asked if smaller school meal portions were inevitable, she said: “I don’t think it’s inevitable. That depends on what we’re going to prioritise as a school system, as a government, as a country. They don’t have to get smaller and the ingredients don’t have to be inferior if we decide that actually, making sure our children aren’t going to be hungry [is a priority].”
Rising catering costs are one of a number of budgetary concerns for heads as inflation and energy prices continue to rocket.
Tes has previously written about how heads face a “perfect storm” of financial pressures this spring, with school leaders warning that the quality of education could suffer as a result.
