SCHOOL meals in Crewe and Nantwich are to rise by ten pence to £1.75 a day from September.

The price hike has been blamed on demands for a healthier diet sparked by national media focus such as the Jamie Oliver TV series.

Head of catering for County Business Services Nigel Argyle said recent changes to the school meals service were caused by 'issues beyond our control'.

He said: "Although school meals in Cheshire have always been healthy, the new Government drive for healthier eating means that certain foods cannot appear on school menus, and many parents have asked for better quality products to be made available.

"CBS Catering are happy to embrace the wishes of parents, but increased quality comes at a price."

He said that changes in the style of service demanded by schools and parents have increased food costs and increased costs in production.

He added: "We have seen how increased meal quality and parental awareness of what their children actually eat has led to increased sales and we believe this will continue.

"It is important that parents realise what they may have seen on the Jamie Oliver TV series is not a true representation of the meals served in Cheshire's schools.

"Many schools have seen improvements in food quality over the past months and years and we are currently in the process of providing pupils with unlimited daily access to vegetables and salad in the vast majority of primary schools.

"School meals are a great way to ensure that children enjoy a well prepared, good quality meal that is nutritionally balanced and all for less than you would pay for a coffee in the high street."