Cost of living crisis and food supply difficulties disrupting Dumfries and Galloway School meals

dailyrecord.co.uk:

School meals in Dumfries and Galloway are being disrupted by the cost of living crisis and food supply difficulties. As price inflation has continued to rise for 13 consecutive months, suppliers have been failing to provide the same levels of food to schools – and some deliveries are just not turning up.

The cost of buying ingredients has also led to the education department calculating that an extra £300,000 is required in funding for the current year.

An annual performance for the council’s education committee states: “The catering service continues to monitor the impact of the highest volume products that are used within the school meal service. “The service is also experiencing a shortfall of food commodities from our suppliers with little or no notification due to the current situation regarding fuel prices, insufficient foods and climate to name a few. “This issue is exasperated due to the new nutritional legislation narrowing the market of products that are available. “Shortfalls or non-delivery of food products has an impact on the delivery of nursery, primary and secondary school meals service as foodstuffs being procured must meet the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Act. “A further increase of food costs in school meals can be attributed to the additional fruit and vegetables that must be provided as part of the new legislation as well as premium prices of nutritionally compliant foods associated with the new legislation. “The service estimated in May, 2022, an average cost increase of up to 20 per cent of all food commodities associated with school meals and estimated a cost of approximately £300,000 additional funding regarding the increase in food cost for year