Shrinking portions, ‘very beige’ servings and rising costs leave schools and families bewildered
Parents and teachers have shared their own frustrations with substandard school meals after a headteacher in Southampton complained about his school’s contract caterers, asking: “How difficult is it to bake a potato?”
Several parents and school staff who got in touch with the Guardian blamed the outsourcing of school catering for what they saw as declining provision. One headteacher in south-west England, who asked not to be named, said she remembered what lunchtime was like before budget constraints forced her to make the school’s cook redundant. “Children at playtime would go out and smell what was cooking for lunch and get excited. We felt it was making a difference to children’s diets”.
