Schools may be forced to reduce portion sizes for lunches because of rising food costs, a food wholesaler boss has warned.
Andrew Selley, chief-executive of Bidfood, one of the UK's biggest food wholesalers, has said that schools might also be forced to use cheaper ingredients to try and counter the rising food prices. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "The situation is going to lead to some difficult decisions for school caterers. Either they are going to serve smaller portions or use cheaper ingredients, which is not going to be good for children."
He added that baked goods are currently up to 30 per cent more expensive due to rising wheat prices, which will also impact pasta, eggs, and chicken. The price of sunflower oil has also "doubled against a year ago", further impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine - one of the world's biggest food oil exporters.
