Price of Hampshire school dinners to rise from November

A TEN pence rise in school meals is set to come into effect from November, Hampshire County Council has announced.

It means parents will have to pay £2.50, with the authority blaming what it says is a “small increase” on the rising cost of providing school meals and climate change action.

Cllr Patricia Stallard, the cabinet member for children’s services and young people who gave the green light for the hike, insisted: “I am keen that school meals remain affordable, but we must balance this against the increasing cost of providing those meals.

“Mainly this comes from the ever-increasing cost of ingredients”, Cllr Stallard said, before highlighting the council’s catering service, HC3S, actively supports its climate change programme.

“While changes such as sourcing alternatives to single-use plastic are projected to incur slightly higher costs, it is certainly the right thing to do in a climate emergency,” she added.

Around 12m healthy school meals were served in Hampshire’s primary and secondary schools last year by HC3S.

The food meets the Department for Education’s rules for healthy school dinners and adhere to the Hyperactive Children's Support Group's recommendations to remove more than 70 additives and colourings that could affect children's behaviour.