Education Authority ‘regrettably’ increases price of school meals
There will be a A 50p increase in the price of a set school meal for paying pupils (primary, nursery and special schools) with equivalent percentage increases for food items in school cafeterias (post primary schools).
These increases will take effect from January 2026. Pupils receiving free school meals will not be impacted. Prices paid for school meals have not increased since 2017/18 and will remain well below the cost of producing a meal.
Over 200,000 school meals are consumed every day in Northern Ireland. The Education Authority says the cost of producing school meals is around £4.28 per portion.
A spokesperson for the Education Authority said: “The current year’s financial position for the Education Authority is a projected shortfall of circa £300m. This is not a situation anyone at EA wants to be in. It is nevertheless the reality.
“We have been advised that, unlike the position in previous years, additional significant funding allocations are unlikely to be made available to address this shortfall. The Education Authority has therefore regrettably been required to identify a series of significant savings measures.”