The Department of Education announced Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) is increasing by 5p, which is far lower than many in the industry expected.
Dolce Catering, which works with over 650 primary and secondary schools nationwide providing 125,000 meals for pupils every day, is calling for the Government to overhaul the funding system. Operating from three hubs in Greater Manchester (Warrington), Yorkshire (Wetherby) and East Midlands (Wellingborough), Dolce serves schools across England and Wales.
Curtis said: “School meals are woefully underfunded; the 5p increase to UIFSM isn’t where it needs to be. However, the root cause of the problem doesn’t lie in underfunding; it lies in a completely dysfunctional system.
“Every school, no matter what the size, is allocated the same amount per meal. This simply doesn’t work because catering is based on economies of scale. Larger schools, which have more pupils, can achieve school meals at a far lower price per meal than smaller schools can.
“A small, rural primary school with 100 pupils on roll can face costs of anywhere up to £5.50 a meal whereas a larger primary school, with 800 pupils on roll, could get their meal price as low as £2.15 a meal. With the new UIFSM funding sitting at £2.58 per meal, too much money is spent at some larger schools, whereas not enough is spent at some smaller schools.
“The truth is that it requires a fixed sum and a variable – for example, £20,000 fixed sum subsidy with a £2 variable subsidy to make sure enough money goes to small rural schools and that too much isn’t spent at larger schools.
“For some Local Authority catering departments, financially supporting the smaller schools has become too difficult. Hampshire, Leicester City, Cheshire East and Oldham, have gone under this year. Nottinghamshire is in the process of outsourcing to a big Facilities Management company, whilst Newcastle is in the process of reviewing their viability.
“I predict half a dozen more Local Authorities will close their doors on school meals in the next 12 months, with serious long-term impact. The Government needs to overhaul how school meal funding is applied and rectify the imbalance.”