Inflation, war in Ukraine and shortages of all kinds: the price of meals in the school canteen is likely to suffer the consequences, with a possible increase of 5 to 10%.
An increase in the price of school meals of “5 to 10%”
The price of meals in the canteen is likely to increase and to weigh more heavily on family budgets at the start of the 2022 school year. Inflation and the rise in the price of certain raw materials are pushing suppliers to increase their prices, which will have an impact on the price of school meals for children. Between the shortages of certain foodstuffs base, and the surge of energy priceinflation is doing further collateral damage, with the increase in the price of school meals. At the expense of the municipalities, the primary school canteens see their service for two thirds of them managed by private organizations, such as Sodexo or API restoration, and the other third provides the service themselves. The college canteens are the responsibility of the department, while those of the high school by the region, and charge all these communities of set school meal prices. Faced with the massive increase in prices, the suppliers have therefore asked the municipalities to revise their pricing upwards, to “loh5 to 10%“, a indicates on France Info Philippe Laurent, vice-president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF). “Suppliers wrote to us to tell us that the indexation measures provided for in the markets were not sufficient and that the theory of unpredictability had to be implemented”, which allows the terms to be renegotiated in the event of an unpredictable and new economic situation, he explained.
The increase in the price of the canteen at the expense of municipalities or families?
Whether the increase in the price of meals in the canteen promises to be inevitable, the question still arises as to who will bear the cost. Some cities have decided to assume it, and not to put a strain on family budgets, which are already well blunted. Ajaccio, Dunkirk, Limoges or even Dijon have opted for this support, but “it’s getting harder and harder“, adds Philippe Laurent, while the tax revenues of communities have dropped considerably in recent years. In fact, “about half of the municipalities” go increase the price of the meal in the canteen on the invoice sent to the parents, as in L’Abresle, a town in Lyon, which already reviewed its pricing last March. Assuming part of the increase, the rest to be borne by the families is assessed between 20 and 50 cents per lunch according France Info.
Also, in an attempt to stem an excessive increase in the scale, certain towns such as Limoges have already tried to review the meal menu offered to students. The price of oil has taken off? Never mind, steam cooking will now be prioritized… If there are no small savings, the challenge is to know how to make them without compromising the requirements of balanced, healthy and varied meals offered to children. .