It comes with the publication of new research showing that any rise in price for school meals is likely to see a fall in the number of pupils buying them – with demand for school food more sensitive to price changes than other food products.
The Trust’s Chief Executive, Judy Hargadon, said: “This study underlines the importance of price for parents and pupils when making the choice to buy a school lunch.
“We know that caterers are already working hard to keep costs down in a very tough trading environment. But if we want to make sure that more children have access to a well-balanced school lunch and that school meals can play their full part in improving children’s health, we can’t ignore what our customers are telling us about the price they’re prepared to pay.”
The research, by London Economics, suggests that demand for school food is more sensitive to changes in price than other food products. For a 10% increase in price of school meals, a fall in take up of between 7% and 10% can be expected.
The School Food Trust is already working with local authorities around the country to test the impacts of price incentives on school meal take up. Primary schools in York and Waltham Forest tested a series of week-long price offers in 2009 and suggested that the number of children eating a school lunch during the trials increased by 22% and 10% respectively. The School Food Trust is now working with schools in North Somerset to explore how one of those incentives, ‘All Meals for £1’, can sustain increased take up over a longer period.
Bolton Council is currently offering school meals for £1 to all children in its primary schools during the spring term. Executive Member for Environmental Services, Councillor Ismail Ibrahim, said: "This move is aimed at encouraging more children to eat healthily by having a school meal at an affordable price.
“We want to offer healthy, tasty, affordable meals to all our primary school children. We know times are tough and what better way to help families struggling in the current climate?
“Our school meals are among the best in the country and we’re hoping to see more pupils tucking into a school meal through this initiative."
Ms Hargadon added: “To help keep prices low, we’re working with local authorities, caterers, cooks and schools on making their services as efficient as possible, to promote their meals to children, to improve their facilities and to make the whole school meal experience a happy one.”
The full report can be found at www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/news_item.asp?newsCatId=2&NewsId=212
The Government’s School Lunch Grant is providing support for local authorities and schools to keep down the price of school meals from April 2008 to March 2011, with £80m of ring-fenced funding available for each of those three years.
The School Food Trust also provides a range of resources to support schools in increasing demand for school lunches, enabling services to run more efficiently, building skills and kitchen capacity and improving dining spaces.
