Navigating the budget squeeze in school lunches: how academies & trusts can make the numbers work
Academies & trusts lunch overview
In today’s education catering environment, in-house teams in academies & trusts are under unprecedented pressure. Rising supply chain costs, staffing challenges, and a funding model that no longer keeps pace with inflation are combining to make it increasingly difficult for catering teams to deliver meals that meet the Government’s School Food Standards while also being financially sustainable.
What the data tells us
The recent LACA Cost-of-Living & Supply Chain survey highlights the scale of the issue:
- Only 19% of school caterers say they can currently provide a compliant meal within the existing funding rate of £2.61 per meal (£3.00 in London).
- The remaining 81% estimate that they need an average of £3.25 per meal to meet the standards.
- The average cost of a school meal has increased by 26.5% since March 2020.
- Additional pressures include supply shortages and substitutions (59% of respondents reported this) and recruitment challenges (vacancies for kitchen assistants at 22%).
- LACA is calling on the Government to increase funding to at least £3.45 per meal, with guaranteed ring-fencing for catering.
In short: academies & trusts are being asked to deliver higher standards on a tightening budget, amid rising costs and supply chain instability.
The breakfast club contrast
LACA has welcomed the Department for Education’s expansion of the free breakfast-club funding programme. From April 2026, over 500,000 additional children will benefit, and a new funding model will include both a flat rate of £1 per pupil per day and a £25 daily fixed payment per school.
However, while breakfast support increases, lunch funding has remained stagnant. LACA points out that inflation has driven up food costs by nearly 50% since 2020, yet the per-meal funding rate has barely changed. This widening gap risks undermining the quality and sustainability of midday meals – the mainstay of school food provision.
For academies and trusts, this highlights the importance of strategic procurement, menu engineering, and data-driven management to maintain quality and compliance under rising cost pressure.
Why this matters
For academies & trusts, food provision is about much more than simply feeding children. A high-quality school meal:
- Underpins student health and wellbeing; children who are properly nourished are better ready to learn.
- Supports equity: for many students, school lunch is their most reliable hot meal.
- Enhances the school’s reputation, helps student retention, and strengthens parent engagement.
- Drives wider goals: from sustainability and waste reduction to dietary compliance and menu innovation.
When budgets are squeezed, something must give – a reduction in menu variety; a reliance on lower quality or more processed ingredients; smaller portion sizes; or staffing constraints. These are not theoretical risks but real and immediate challenges, according to LACA.
The Procurement Act: what academies and trusts need to know
The Procurement Act was introduced on 24 February 2025, changing how the UK government, and wider public sector, buys goods and services.
Key features of the Act are:
- A redefined tender portal: the UK’s Find a Tender Service (FTS) has been replaced by an integrated Central Digital Platform (CDP), streamlining procurement information in one central hub.
- Streamlined procurement procedures: the Act consolidates previous multi-stage processes into two options: Open procedure: For straightforward tenders with no pre-qualifying stages. Competitive flexible procedure: Allows authorities to design multi-stage or negotiated tenders suited to specific needs.
- Greater opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs): Contracts can now be divided into smaller components (lots), making them more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses.
- Faster supplier payments: Public bodies must now pay suppliers within 30 days – improving cashflow for all parties and encouraging supplier participation.
- Updated procurement models: to avoid repeatedly publishing new tenders, public bodies can now use:
Framework agreements: buyers can use a framework that has an arrangement with a limited number of pre qualified suppliers. The suppliers need to join during the initial tendering process, and the framework runs for up to four years. - Open framework agreements: arrangements that include a limited number of pre-qualified suppliers, but they can be reopened for entry and new suppliers can be added if needed. They can run for a maximum of eight years and offer more flexibility than standard framework agreements.
- Dynamic markets: offer an unlimited number of pre-qualified suppliers for buyers to choose from. New suppliers can join at any time, as long as they meet the necessary requirements, and there isn’t a time limit on a dynamic market arrangement, so it can run for longer than either of the frameworks.
- New procurement priorities: the Most Advantageous Tenders (MAT) approach, rather than focusing on the right balance of price and quality, allows for the consideration of wider factors, such as social value, sustainability. This works alongside the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) which outlines the key goals for public procurement.
- Focus on performance: new measures hold suppliers accountable for their actions and prevent work going to suppliers who are unfit to deliver the requirements.
- A central debarment list: These include mandatory grounds for excluding suppliers who engage in criminal activity, such as cartel behaviour, and new discretionary grounds for poor performance or environmental misconduct.
- Greater transparency: improved access to procurement data enables suppliers to analyse opportunities and develop stronger bid.
At allmanhall, we support our school clients to remain compliant, competitive, and agile in light of these changes – making procurement not only easier, but also strategically aligned to new legislation.
What academies & trusts can do
allmanhall supports academies and trusts with more than cost control – we focus on improving choice, quality and supplier relationships. Here’s how:
Strategic procurement for cost efficiency: we consolidate procurement across multiple sites within a trust, leveraging scale and reducing supplier fragmentation. By partnering with allmanhall, HEART Academies Trust for example, achieved a 20% food cost saving with allmanhall. This enabled them to introduce a free breakfast programme and invest in a new on-site café.
Menu engineering and yield management: rather than cutting portion sizes or substituting ingredients in isolation, our approach looks at holistic menu optimisation. We help schools maintain student appeal while meeting School Food Standards, for example, using plant-rich proteins or more pulses to offset meat costs.
By removing 50% of the beef in a cottage pie and replacing it with lentils, catering teams can reduce the carbon impact by 41% and achieve a massive 70% cost saving!
Robust controls, data, and reporting: we provide tools and management information so that both catering and finance teams can track trends, monitor stock, and assess supplier performance. Proactive decisions replace reactive responses, supporting long term resilience. Through our client portal, The Pass, trusts can access detailed spend reports, cost-per-meal trends, allergen data, and sustainability metrics, enabling data-led management across catering operations.
Nutrition, compliance and sustainability as essentials: in the face of budget pressure, it’s tempting to treat nutrition and sustainability as ‘nice to haves’ but they are essential and increasingly non-negotiable. Our Registered Dietitian and Registered Nutritionist help schools manage allergens, meet legislative requirements e.g. Natasha’s Law, and design healthier menus. We also support sustainability tracking, including Scope 3 emissions and food waste.
“Our partnership is rooted in sustainability and social value. allmanhall supports HEART’s climate conscious goals by helping measure and reduce the Trust’s carbon footprint, offering carbon labelling via Foodsteps, and exploring waste management solutions. The collaboration also extends to staff training in preparing planet friendly meals and engaging students… these initiatives align with HEART’s broader sustainability strategy.”
– Paul Edmond, Chief Finance & Sustainability Officer, HEART Academies Trust
Consolidated billing: school teams buy from multiple suppliers but receive a single simplified invoice each month, reducing their administrative burden. Since partnering with allmanhall in 2024, Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust were able to reduce their 878 monthly invoices across the Trust to just 30.
Workforce stability and training: we help reduce recruitment strain through training, back-office simplification and ongoing operational support. When teams spend less time firefighting and more time on food, quality improves and cost pressures ease.
A 4-step action plan for academies & trusts
For anyone responsible for catering, procurement, finance or operations in an academy or trust, here’s where to start:
- Benchmark current costs per meal: include hidden admin and waste. Compare with the national picture (£2.61 current funding vs £3.25 estimated required).
- Audit supply chain and admin: how many suppliers and invoices? What’s the back-office burden?
- Review menu & portion strategy: are menus fully compliant with the School Food Standards? Managing yield, waste, and variety?
- Engage the strategic agenda: sustainability, nutrition & dietetics, training, digital tools – these are essential, not optional.
Why allmanhall?
allmanhall are a family-founded, owner-managed business, recognised for award-winning service. Our food procurement solution goes beyond cost savings – we support quality, choice, supplier relationships, and strategic impact.
Our consolidated billing model lets academies & trusts work with multiple suppliers but receive a single monthly invoice, freeing their team to focus on what matters: food and service.
Our award-winning support team includes a dedicated Client Relationship Manager and a Client Support Advisor, and we guarantee real human support on every call.
Our nutrition and dietetics consultancy ensures menu development, allergen management and compliance are professionally covered.
Our mobilisations are smooth, enabling schools to hit the ground running with our procurement solution:
“As we all can appreciate change is one of the most difficult things to manage and I admit due to the scale of the change we at the Trust were apprehensive on how moving from a long standing supplier to yourselves (allmanhall) would impact the 31 schools within the Trust. Due to the excellent mobilisation team, the transition was very good. We received excellent communication, problem solving and training.”
– Cordelia Percy, Trusts Facilities Lead, Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust
When schools partner with allmanhall, they gain a strategic ally, committed to long-term results and sustainable, compliant school meals.
“As a customer for over three years I can highly recommend allmanhall as these guys really know what they’re doing when it comes to effective procurement and making substantial savings that can be reinvested in our in-house operation.”
– Nigel Donnelly, Northern Star Academies Trust
In conclusion
Funding pressures, inflation and staffing issues are challenging school leaders like never before. But the solution isn’t to cut quality or scale back ambition.
With the right procurement partner, strong operational controls and expert insight, academies and trusts can achieve quality, compliant, nutritious meals while improving efficiency and building resilience.
Contact allmanhall today to arrange a free initial review of your catering operation or explore strategic support options.