He tightened school lunch rations.

But caterers are struggling to maintain quality and portion sizes as costs rise and budgets fall short.

Michael Hales, the new chairman of the School Eating Advisory Association (LACA), said school lunch providers were now having to make “difficult decisions” to balance budgets with nutritional needs. LACA currently provides around 3 million school lunches a day in England.

However, the government ’s financial support, currently at £2.61 per meal, only covers a fraction of the actual cost. According to LACA’s survey, the real cost of providing a full school meal is around £3.45, 80p more than the funding level.

Budget constraints have a direct impact on the quality of meals for millions of children. Of the 67 suppliers surveyed by LACA, 17 admitted to reducing portion sizes, 35 cutting back on menu options and 38 replacing meat with cheaper protein sources. Another 56 suppliers have had to adjust recipes to reduce costs.

At St Mary’s Primary School in Stoke-on-Trent, headteacher Clare Morton has spent an extra £45,000 a year to make up for the shortfall in government funding. The money could have been used to recruit an extra support worker, but Ms Morton said: “Making sure children eat well is far more important. For many children, this is the only hot meal of the day. Without healthy, nutritious food, children cannot learn well.”

Meanwhile, the UK government announced that from September 2026, the country will expand the free meals program to children of all families receiving state benefits. Previously, in addition to the family's eligibility for benefits, income factors were also considered.

The new measure is expected to make an additional 500,000 children eligible for free meals, but many in the sector are concerned that the scheme will put more financial pressure on schools if the level of support is not increased accordingly.

Ms Morton warned that as the scheme expanded, the number of parents paying their own way would fall sharply, adding to the financial burden. The UK government needed to recognise the stark gap between the level of funding and the actual cost of raising children.

On the parent side, concerns about nutritional quality are also growing. “We need serious government investment in school meals, not only to ensure nutrition but also to create a safe, nutritious food environment in schools,” said parent Mandy Mazliah.

According to BBC

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