Inflation could force schools to shrink children’s meals or use cheaper ingredients, warns food wholesalers chief exective
Schools may have to reduce portion sizes for children's meals due to ratcheting costs, the chief of one of the UK'S biggest food wholesalers has warned.
Andrew Selley, chief executive of Bidfood, said schools might also use cheaper ingredients in a bid to counter rapidly rising food prices.
"The situation is going to lead to some difficult decisions for school caterers," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"Either they are going to serve smaller portions or use cheaper ingredients, which is not going to be good for children."
He added that baked goods are currently up to 30 per cent more expensive due to rising wheat prices, which are also due to feed into pasta, eggs and chicken.
The price of sunflower oil has also "doubled against a year ago", after being pushed higher by the invasion of Ukraine, one of the world's biggest food oil exporters.
Dr Paul Gosling, headteacher of Exeter Road Community Primary School in Devon, and
NAHT school leaders' union president, said he is experiencing the impact of rising food costs at his school.
"We have held off increasing the cost of meals to paying families as it will be another pressure on them," he said.
"At the moment the school is absorbing the increased cost but it is not sustainable.
"The money we get for infant and key stage 2 free school meals is not keeping pace with gas increases and increasing food supply costs."
His comments came as the chairman of Marks & Spencer also warned that food prices could soar by as much as 10 per cent this year.
Archie Norman, who has chaired M&S since 2017 and was previously the boss of Asda, said food prices would increase further during the rest of the year.
"It's very negative for consumer discretionary income but it's perhaps not apocalyptic," he told the BBC.
"It wouldn't be surprising to see food price inflation over the course of the year running towards 8 per cent to 10 per cent.
"But we don't know that yet because it runs through the year - some has run through now but there is quite a lot still to come."