A pilot of the government’s new food standards found some schools saw costs rise and uptake drop when changes designed to make menus healthier were rolled out. The new school food standards – which aim to reduce salt, sugar and fat and increase fruit, vegetables and fibre on pupils’ plates – are being rolled out from September 2027, subject to parliamentary approval. The DfE published its final standards last month. Today, the department published results of a pilot of an earlier draft of the standards, held across 12 schools last autumn. Schools and caterers have broadly welcomed the move to make school food more healthy, but have raised concerns it could lead to higher costs. Some schools already report current funding levels are “not sufficient”. No extra funding has been allocated by government to help schools roll out the new standards. Cost increases The six-week pilot, carried out by Verian, found food costs increased “in some schools”, by 6p to 20p per meal. The pilot report said this was mainly due to switching to new menu items, such as low-fat yoghurt, reduced-fat cheese, and high-fibre or brown pasta and bread. Higher-fibre alternatives “were often more expensive” to standard items. But it said caterers “generally expected ingredient costs to reduce over time if demand increased following a national rollout”. “A small number of schools reported that the costs had been manageable,” it said, adding these tended to be in-house or charity caterers which did not need to factor in profit margins. Some schools also reported increased staff costs. Caterers said some extra staff costs “may decrease” over time, but costs from increased preparation time “may not decrease as quickly”. Uptake changes Among “unintended consequences” of the pilot was that some pupils “brought packed lunches…bought food offsite…or occasionally skipped lunch”. This reportedly included children eligible for free school meals, “which could have placed additional pressure on family budgets”. Five caterers reported lunch uptake fell during the pilot. One primary school caterer said it dropped from 73 to 67 per cent. Another saw a 15 per cent fall. One secondary reported uptake fell by 40 per cent, “mainly due to to reduced sales of grab-and-go items” which accounted for around 80 per cent of sales, and bottled drinks. Seven schools provided information on how food waste was affected. Three reported an increase, while another saw “significantly higher” waste which then fell to normal. One caterer reported an increase in waste throughout the pilot. The school said there was no extra waste, but packed lunches increased. Another school saw “no change, apart from maybe on the day oily fish was served”. One school saw waste decrease. Secondary issues Schools and caterers have expressed particular concerns about how the new standards could affect secondaries, where pupils could be pushed towards buying food off-site. The report said secondary schools “faced additional challenges” implementing the standards. Limited space and timetable constraints mean many secondary pupils rely on “grab-and-go” options, which were “harder to adapt”. The pilot found commercial and local authority caterers “were concerned that increased costs and reduced uptake…could make school catering financially unsustainable”, particularly at secondaries. The report found improvements to the nutritional profile of menus, though this varied between schools. Free sugars fell overall, while fat reduced slightly. Fibre increases “were less than expected”, which the report put down to “incomplete substitution to wholegrain products”. But fibre “doubled in grab-and-go items, where the greatest improvement was required”. The pilot saw the new standards tested at 12 schools across six English regions – eight primaries, one middle school, and three secondaries, including maintained schools, academies and one special school. Changes to standards The report said the pilot showed the proposed standards were “feasible and acceptable”. But it identified several changes that would support a successful rollout. This included “time to introduce the required changes gradually”, “clear standards and accompanying guidance”, and “resources and sustained support, such as integrating food education into the curriculum and upskilling catering staff”. The report made a number of recommendations, including using “clearer wording”. It also said the government “may need to consider how to review and update school food funding models”. A DfE spokesperson said: “The pilot did exactly what it was designed to do: test the proposed standards, identify challenges and help us develop them before national rollout.”