How Much for a School Dinner?
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How much does it cost for a hot school dinner at your kids school?
Ours is £2.68 which I think is quite good value as it includes a pudding.
I pay £3.00 a day for my little one it's all fresh with pudding can't complain as she's trying foods that I would have never of thought off
I was entitled to free school dinners when i was a child but always had a packed lunch, my mum probably cursed me. My own children always wanted packed lunches so no idea on the cost.
£3 doesn't sound unreasonable but I do wonder what it used to cost. When I was at school they employed 3 or 4 people to make the meals, they came in in the morning prepared all the meals, then served them at lunch time and then after lunch cleaned all the dishes before going home. The school had about 1500 pupils I think at the time. What percentage used the canteen I don't know.
I feel like the cheapest option for the tax payer would be some sort of single entity buying what is needed at bulk rates and then canteen staff employed by the schools themselves.
Nowadays it seems to be a lot of companies bidding for school meal contracts and a lot more management people involved.
A quick google shows school meals were 35p to 50p in 1980 and with inflation that is £1.33 to £2 today. However I guess you would also have to compare the quality of the meals too. The old meals were both good and bad for health and I suspect modern meals are too. I've seen some modern school meals that look fantastic and others that look truly terrible.
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