THE cost of school meals will increase in schools across Warrington this month.

Parents are being notified of changes as Warrington Borough Council confirmed in a statement it has “no option but to increase the price of a school meal”.

Prices are set to increase from £2.60 to £2.80 per meal from Monday, October 30 onwards.

This equates to a weekly rise of £1 per child.

Addressing the price increase, a spokesperson from the council said: “We have been subsidising the school meals service over the last few years to try and keep the cost of a meal down. However, increases in food and staffing costs mean that we unfortunately have no option but to increase the price of a school meal.”

However, the council confirmed that for pupils who access free school meals, this will not be affected by the upcoming changes.

“The government continues to support the universal infant Free School Meals (FSM) project, and this means that all children from reception, year 1 and year 2 will still be provided with a school meal free of charge,” the spokesperson added.

“Any child in years 3-6 can also have a free school meal if you are in receipt of certain allowances. We encourage families to check whether they are eligible for Free School Meals and other financial support schemes on the council website.”

‘Healthy and nutritious meals’ will continue to be provided to children attending schools across the borough, the council added. “We will continue to offer lots of varied options each day, as well as theme days, treat lunches and inviting families to join children for special lunches through the year.”