Parents braced for more school meal price rises

The cost of school dinners in Oxfordshire has risen by nearly 14% and further increases are expected later this financial year.

In April, the price of a meal rose from £2.55 to £2.90. However, a new report warns that additional price hikes will be necessary for the service to "break even".

One mum told BBC Radio Oxford she was considering stopping school meals due to small portion sizes and the rising cost .

Oxfordshire County Council said inflation continued to put pressure on the cost of preparing school meals - but that it was "exploring ways to minimise how this impacts the amount parents are charged".

Patti Miskolczi from Oxford said paying for school meals for her three children cost £180 a month - but she also has to spend hundreds of pounds on extra snacks for them to take in.

She said: "Unfortunately, my children keep reporting that the portions are really small - so they don't get filled enough, they need to take the snack boxes with them as well.

"I am, to be honest, terrified of the cost of it, and that it's constantly going up."

She said her children had described to her a typical school dinner portion.

"Reception school children get one sausage, from Year 2 above you get two sausages and literally an ice cream scoop of mash potato," she explained.

"I thought that is quite mean for £2.90."

Judith Gregory is the chair of the Local Authority Catering Association (LACA), which represents the school food sector.

She said funding was not keeping up with costs.

"We are having to look at cheaper ingredients," she said.

"We are also having to look at reducing choices on the menu.

"Caterers are very resourceful staff but there is a limit as to what we are actually able to do when we're not getting the funding that we need."

A report by Oxfordshire County Council said that even with April's price rise to £2.90 it was "well behind other authorities' charging".

It said it would need a "stepped approach" to catch up and achieve a "break-even position".

A spokesperson said: "We want children to have a balanced, healthy and affordable diet and work hard to keep school meal prices comparable with many other local authorities.

"Inflation continues to put pressure on the cost of preparing school meals, and we are exploring ways to minimise how this impacts on the amount parents are charged."

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