Back to school, back to benchmarking: five food cost checks for the new academic year

A new academic year brings new pupils, new budgets and, often, new pressures on already-stretched resources. For School Business Managers and school leaders, it’s a good opportunity to step back from the day-to-day and take a fresh look at where money is being spent – and whether it’s delivering the right value.

For school food, that means looking beyond the headline cost of a meal. Supplier pricing, product choices, purchasing volumes, menu performance, uptake and operational efficiency can all influence the bottom line.

With the expansion of Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility this academic year, and the School Food Standards also shaping the year ahead, making every pound work harder will be increasingly important.

Here are five food cost checks worth putting on the agenda.

1. Review supplier pricing – not just individual increases

September is a good time to review what you’re paying suppliers and understand how pricing has changed.

Rather than looking only at the latest price increase, benchmark current prices against previous periods and across comparable products. Where prices have moved, ask why. Is it a genuine market movement, a change in specification, a different pack size or simply a supplier price adjustment?

It’s also worth looking at the cumulative impact. A small increase on one product may seem insignificant, but when multiplied across high-volume lines and a full academic year, the impact can be much greater.

The aim isn’t necessarily to find the cheapest option – it’s to understand whether the price being paid represents good value for the product, specification and service being delivered.

2. Identify where costs have moved most significantly

Benchmarking helps identify the products, categories or suppliers where expenditure has changed most significantly, allowing schools to focus their attention where it can make the greatest difference.

Look at your data across categories and, where possible, over time. Are certain commodities driving increases? Have some product categories remained relatively stable while others have risen sharply? Are there products where purchasing behaviour has changed?

That level of visibility is important when budgets are under pressure. It enables schools to prioritise rather than making blanket cuts that could ultimately affect quality, nutrition or pupil experience.

3. Check what you’re actually buying

Cost control isn’t just about negotiating a better price. It’s also about making sure you’re buying what you need, in the quantities you need, at the right specification.

Are there products being ordered across multiple suppliers when consolidating purchasing could deliver a better price? Are pack sizes appropriate? Are there products being purchased that aren’t being fully utilised? Could alternative products meet the same requirement without compromising quality or compliance?

Good benchmarking can provide useful context. Comparing purchasing data against appropriate benchmarks can highlight anomalies that may otherwise be difficult to spot.

4. Don’t wait until year-end to measure performance

One of the biggest mistakes schools and trusts can make is treating benchmarking as an annual exercise. Food costs need to be monitored throughout the year. Prices change, pupil numbers change, menus change and purchasing patterns change. A budget that looks healthy in September can look very different several months later.

Regular reporting allows schools and trusts to identify emerging issues early and understand whether changes are having the intended effect.

It can also help connect food cost with other measures of performance. For example, if food costs are rising, is that being driven by higher uptake, changes to the menu, increased waste or supplier pricing? If costs have fallen, has that been achieved efficiently, or could it be affecting quality or provision?

5. Factor in the changing school food landscape

There are wider changes to consider this academic year too.

Changes to FSM eligibility has increased the number of children entitled to a free school meal, bringing both opportunities and financial considerations for schools and trusts. More pupils accessing school meals could affect purchasing volumes, staffing requirements, production and overall food costs.

At the same time, schools need to adapt to the new School Food Standards, ensuring that cost management does not come at the expense of nutritional quality or compliance.

That makes it more important than ever to understand the relationship between cost, volume, quality and provision. The question isn’t simply ‘How can we spend less?’ – it’s ‘How can we make every pound work harder while continuing to provide the food pupils need?’

Make benchmarking part of the conversation

For School Business Managers and school leaders, September offers a useful reset point.

Reviewing supplier pricing, identifying significant cost movements, examining purchasing patterns and monitoring performance throughout the year can all help build a clearer picture of where food budgets are going. Get in touch with us here to learn more about how we can help.

The Quenelles team