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ESPO, one of the UK's largest public sector professional buying organisations, fears Government plans to introduce free school meals for under 8s are causing logistical headaches for primary schools and has stepped in with ‘practical advice’ ahead of the September deadline.

Karen Grewcock , head of category food and catering at ESPO said: “The health and educational benefits of providing free school meals is in no doubt and this initiative fits in well to tackling childhood obesity and enhancing concentration levels in school children.

“With an estimated 1.55 million additional infants eligible for a free school meal, some schools are likely to see an increase in the number of meals it needs to provide. The main questions we’re being asked are how to cater for increased numbers and sourcing extra catering equipment.

“Although the Government has pledged £150m to help schools expand their catering facilities, schools are still unsure about where to turn to for new equipment, extra staff and whether their current catering suppliers will cope with this increase in demand.

“However, help is at hand from organisations like ours who can offer practical advice in how to prepare in advance of the looming deadline.

“At ESPO we can advise on all aspects of school catering from hiring new catering staff to sourcing new kitchen and dining room equipment cost effectively. And for those schools without a kitchen, we can also offer guidance for bringing caterers in and with the supply of food, such as fruit and veg, meat and groceries.

“Our immediate advice for any schools planning for these increased numbers is to act now and seek guidance from experts who can advise you on how best to prepare.”

She added that a lack of catering staff, not enough dining space and sourcing ingredients to triple the number of meals served per day were just some of the concerns facing headteachers as they looked at how they were going to make best use of increased budgets to provide free school meals for under 8s.

Since the Government announcement about the start of this new school meal provision, ESPO had received an increased volume of calls from headteachers concerned about the practicalities of delivering this significant increase in school meals.

ESPO, which operates on a not-for-profit cost recovery basis, was established to provide a comprehensive procurement service to the public sector. In 2011-12 its procurement activity had a value of more than £1bn.

It was originally established to serve Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. Cambridgeshire County Council joined the consortium later in 1981 followed by Norfolk County Council in 1985 and Warwickshire County Council in 1991. The consortium expanded further in 1987 with the addition of Leicester City Council followed by Peterborough City Council in the following year.

For more information visit the ESPO website: www.espo.org