New school food standards are set to raise expectations – but are schools equipped to manage the cost?

The government’s proposed overhaul of school food standards has been widely welcomed across the education and catering sectors – and rightly so.

A renewed focus on healthier choices, including replacing sugary desserts with fruit for most of the school week and limiting the daily availability of less nutritious grab-and-go options, reflects a shared ambition to improve the food pupils eat at school.

But alongside the nutritional benefits, there is another conversation schools are having: what will these changes mean financially?

For many self-operated school catering teams, adapting menus to align with tighter standards may bring new procurement challenges. Healthier ingredients can come at a premium, supplier choices may need reviewing, and purchasing habits that have been in place for years may suddenly come under scrutiny.

In short, schools may find themselves asking an important question:

Are we buying as efficiently as we could be?

Since the news of the school meals overhaul, we’ve seen growing interest from self-operated school catering operations looking for clearer insight into exactly that.

Because while schools often have visibility over what they spend, far fewer have context around whether that spend is competitive.

• How does the price you’re paying for fresh produce compare with similar schools?
• Are you sourcing core ingredients at above-market rates without realising?
• Could alternative suppliers offer better value without compromising on quality?
• Are there opportunities to consolidate purchasing, reduce unnecessary cost, or negotiate more effectively?

When schools understand how their procurement performance compares against wider industry averages, it gives catering teams and bursars a clearer view of where money is being spent well – and where efficiencies may be hiding in plain sight.

Often, savings are not found through sweeping operational change, but through smarter procurement decisions: reviewing supplier mix, identifying overpriced categories, and understanding where purchasing is out of line with sector benchmarks.

Following recent conversations with self-operated schools reviewing their catering strategies, we’re offering complimentary procurement benchmarking reports to help similar self-operated schools understand how their purchasing compares to the wider market.

No obligation – just practical insight that can help schools make informed buying decisions, control costs, and deliver great food as standards evolve.

If your school is reviewing its catering provision in light of the proposed new standards, now is a good time to benchmark where you stand. Get in touch with us here to take up a complimentary benchmarking report.

The Quenelles team