From education to employment

Lunch a top priority as research reveals two-thirds of parents and carers would spend extra government funding on school meals

lunch box

One of the largest surveys ever conducted on school meal provision has found that if the Government were to increase funding for education, two thirds of parents, grandparents and carers think it should be spent on school meals, with just 32% preferring it be spent on improving areas of the curriculum.

The 2022 School Meals Report was produced by Cypad – the market leading meal & kitchen management platform – and drew on data collected from a survey of 306,354 ParentPay users, the UK’s market leading cashless payments platform. Produced in conjunction with LACA, the report found that of the 68% of respondents that would spend additional funding on school meals, 27% would subsidise school meals for all; 23% would extend free school meal eligibility; and 18% would improve the quality of food.

The report also revealed the nationwide popularity of school meals with 83% of pupils having one such meal every week and half having them every day. Meat is firmly on the menu with just 4% of children reported as being vegetarian, though 15% of parents would like to see more vegan and meat-free days.

Other findings include:

  • Time to cook?: The vast majority of parents believe that cooking should be part of the curriculum. 89% believe it should be compulsory for children of all ages, while 9% want it only taught to secondary school pupils. In total, just 2% of parents don’t want cooking to be part of the curriculum.
  • The rise of cashless payments: 83% of parents reported that they could no longer pay for school meals with cash. 77% of primary school parents, and 70% of secondary school parents, would like to be able to use a system that allows them to pre-select meals ahead of time, view the menu and nutritional content, and see a picture of the food
  • The warming effect: 47% of parents opt for school meals because they want their kids to have a hot lunch, whilst 45% chose to do so because it is convenient. 24%, meanwhile, select school lunches for their children because their friends do
  • Diversity is the spice of food: A greater variety of food on offer would increase uptake of school meals, according to around 44% of parents. A further 44% of parents, meanwhile, would increase their uptake of school lunches if they believed the quality of meals was better and around 38% if they were cheaper
  • The inflationary effect? 69% of parents still feel that school meals are priced correctly, while 28% think the price is too high. Notably, there has been a drop of 11% of those feel that meals are priced correctly compared to the 2021 report

Mark Brant, CEO of ParentPay said: “It is clear from the report just how important school meals are to parents and children alike. The reason why parents pick school meals – because it provides something warm at lunchtime with their friends – perhaps explains why they would spend extra government money on their provision. Lunchtime is clearly at the very heart of the school day and plays a huge role in developing a sense of community within the school gates.

“It is interesting to see the continued advance of cashless payments. We’re now at a stage where just 10% of schools accept cash for lunches. This provides a real benefit for schools, who no longer face an administrative burden of banking vast sums of physical currency, as well as parents, who no longer have to send children off to school with pockets laden with coins that could disappear into the sweet shop till. In the playground at least, cash is definitely no longer king.”


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