As caterers attempt to deal with growing food expenses, lamb is being eliminated from some school dinners because it is “too expensive,” and the meat composition of burgers has been decreased from 80% to 50%.
According to a Soil Association survey, 47% of school meal providers are experiencing such intense price pressure that they worry they won’t be able to comply with legal food standards.
In order to use less meat and serve smaller quantities, Ben Jonson Primary School in Tower Hamlets, which prepares lunches for about 600 students, has been slipping greens into burgers.
Due to expense, lamb has been removed off the menu.
‘Substitutions are happening all the time,’ said Pauline Gati, the kitchen manager.
Health experts warned of a threat to the wellbeing of students after 13% of caterers claimed they had already fallen short of the criteria.
The Financial Times was informed by dietitian and owner of ZG Nutrition Zoe Griffiths that “many children rely on their school meal as their only meal of the day.”
Children who experience food insecurity may exhibit malnutrition-related symptoms.
They will also encounter social stigma, which may have an adverse effect on their mental well-being, attention, and behavior at school.
Recent Retail Price Index data for food purchased by typical consumers revealed that the average cost of a roasting joint of beef had increased by 9.8% to £11.34 over the year to April while the cost of chicken had increased by 10.4% to £3 per kilo.
However, caterers are reporting even more drastic price increases for numerous products of between 20 and 30%, with changes frequently occurring every week.
According to Laca, the trade association for school caterers, the price of minced beef increased by 11% over night in recent weeks, while at one company, the price of 10 kg of cooked potatoes climbed from £10.46 to £15.50.
And things might get worse because, according to a Sodexo survey of food purchasers, 35% said they will have to keep raising costs because it’s tough to manage their supply chain.
Some schools have been obliged to propose substitutes due to rising costs and challenges locating specific components.
According to a recent survey, gammon is increasingly taking the place of beef on school dinner menus as caterers choose less expensive meats in reaction to fast rising prices.
Additionally, some caterers are substituting foreign-grown fruit for British meat, raising worries about the quality of the food being served.
For its Thursday roast meals, Laira Green Primary School in Plymouth used to provide regional Cornish beef, but has since shifted to less expensive gammon.
Additionally, turkey is being served in place of chicken.
The same catering company, which provides food to over 70 schools throughout the city, is changing its menus in reaction to price increases, according to a report from the BBC.
However, she added: “Some children stopped having roast dinner, and when we asked them why, they said they really missed the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.”
Head teacher Bernadette Kennedy expressed her happiness that the school could continue provide a “healthy roast supper.”
In the midst of a storm of price increases and supply chain problems, Laca, the school caterers’ organization for England and Wales, claims that schools are at “breaking point.”
More than 60 of the 160 catering companies that responded to its most recent survey indicated they had already converted from British meat to less expensive international meat or were planning to do so shortly.
The amount the government pays schools to fund infants’ free lunches at school increased by 7p to £2.41 in April.
The increase was deemed “miserly” by the Soil Association after inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in May.
“School caterers have been warning of a rising crisis for years, and now, predictably, it has come to a head,” said Rob Percival, head of food policy.
“The government’s commitment to an additional 7 pence per infant meal is commendable, but this is completely insufficient given that caterers have endured years of underfunding in addition to the current inflation rates.”
“The government needs to be more ambitious and carry out a thorough review of school food funding and policy, ensuring that caterers are encouraged to provide fresh and sustainable meals, and that no kid ever goes hungry while at school.”