LACA report calls on Government to raise school meals funding to £3.45 per meal
According to the latest survey an overwhelming majority of caterers (98.3%) agree the school meals funds should be ringfenced. The majority (78.3%) of caterers believe a figure between £3-3.20 is more realistic for a two course lunch. Respondents who didn’t consider this to be realistic suggested a figure of £3.45 would be more appropriate.
LACA are calling on the Government to raise the funding to a minimum of £3.45 per meal to address the rising costs of food and labour, and to sustain the school meals service, which is vital for many children and supports thousands of jobs in the catering industry.
They are also asking that funding to schools be ringfenced so that it directly supports the provision of school meals. Currently, schools may not always allocate the full budget to catering services, which hampers the ability to provide quality meals.
Ther regular Cost-of-Living Surveys, which LACA began in March 2022, have presented a powerful view of the impact of the rising food costs, supply chain concerns and recruitment challenges facing the school food industry. The May 2025 edition involved responses from more than 5,869 schools who feed 1.3 million pupils every day.
Judith Gregory, chair of LACA, said: “The cost-of-living crisis has affected vulnerable families, making the provision of a healthy school lunch more critical than ever. A hungry child cannot learn effectively, and it is our responsibility to ensure that no child falls through the cracks. We must act now to secure the future of our children by ensuring they have access to nutritious meals every day.”
Key issues highlighted in the report include rising food prices, funding shortfalls and UK disparities in school meals funding across the four nations. View the full results of the 2025 Cost of Living Supply Chain Survey download the report (it is only available to LACA members).