28/08/2026
A recent supermarket promotion has prompted an important conversation about what we mean when we talk about a school lunch, says Brad Pearce Chair of The School Food People.
Five school lunches for under £4.50 sounds like great value. But is it really comparing like with like?
Packed lunches are convenient, affordable and absolutely have their place, but unlike meals provided in schools, they are not required to meet the School Food Standards.
School caterers work really hard to provide balanced, varied meals across the week, while meeting nutritional standards and managing the costs of skilled staff, kitchens, equipment, utilities, food safety and service delivery.
So, when a basket of supermarket ingredients is marketed as five “school lunches” for less than £4.50, there is a risk that the very different standards and costs involved in providing a school meal become lost.
This matters even more as the Government expands access to Free School Meals. We want that investment to result not simply in more children being eligible for a meal, but more children eating a nutritious, high-quality lunch at school.
School food also supports thousands of jobs, skills and livelihoods, as well as British farmers, growers, producers and local supply chains.
Packed lunches will always have a role. But if we want the best for children, we must continue to champion the quality, nutritional standards and wider value of a properly funded school meal.
