THE council will attempt to bridge the gap between the rising cost of school meals with a financial support package for vulnerable families.

Hampshire County Council’s (HCC) school meal provider, HC3S, is being forced to increase school meal prices by 20p per day from October 31 due to the rising costs of ingredients, energy and staff wages.

To combat the expenses for paying parents the council will provide a financial support package while encouraging parents of older children to check their eligibility for free school meals. The funding will also help parents struggling with school uniform costs.

The announcement follows a call from LACA, the school catering industry body, for additional funding from Government to help providers tackle increased costs. A survey led by LACA found that 1.8m children are facing worsening school meals due to rising food costs.

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Executive member for children’s service and deputy leader of the county council, Cllr Roz Chadd, said: “The decision to increase the price of a school meal is regrettable but unavoidable and reflects the continuing increase in food, energy and other costs nationally.

“Our focus is on what we can to bolster our support for vulnerable families over the challenging winter period and ensure that schools are equipped to cover these costs.  

“We will be supporting those schools where further financial help is most needed to cover the increased costs, and where there is greatest need for vulnerable families. Moreover, we will be providing funding to schools to help families facing hardship with the costs of school uniform. We are currently working through this detail and will be in touch with schools in due course.

“All of this comes alongside a wide range of other ongoing support in Hampshire to address the rising cost of living, including community pantries which provide food at a lower cost than supermarkets; grants to support community projects helping vulnerable families; and our Holiday Activities and Food programme which provides enriching activities and nutritious meals to eligible children over school holidays.” 

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Executive member for commercial strategy, estates and property, Councillor Steve Forster, said: “Our school catering service works extremely hard to keep prices as low as possible whilst also delivering a healthy and balanced two-course hot meal.  

“HC3S is not profit-making and seeks only to cover costs. However, HC3S is experiencing significant increased costs including food and pay, with food prices expected to escalate further.  

“HC3S has negotiated with suppliers to keep food costs below current inflation rates, but the current meal price is not sustainable without reducing the nutritional quality or portion size of meals. That is not fair to children, especially those from households that are experiencing financial hardship, when the provision of a hot meal is vital.  

“We remain determined to provide a high-quality lunch to Hampshire’s children and young people to support their classroom learning. The council has written to the Secretary of State for Education setting out the case for adequate funding levels to support the provision of healthy school meals.”  

Nearly all of Hampshire’s 426 primary schools and many of the special and secondary schools use HC3S as their caterer.  

Families can check if they qualify for free school meals at hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/freeschoolmeals.