Nursery World - Making Ends Meet Part 4: Managing the cost of meals

In part 4 of our series, we look at how settings are managing the cost of meals and the strategies they are implementing. By Leah Jones

Ever-rising food costs are making it harder for early years settings to serve healthy meals.

The overall price of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 25 per cent between January 2022 and January 2024. ‘In the last 18 months we’ve seen a 34 per cent rise in food costs for the group,’ says Peter Ttofis, kitchen manager at Tops Day Nurseries. ‘I’ve been in the industry for 22 years and I’ve never seen food costs this high.’

Many providers have been forced to pass on increased costs to parents.

‘Finance-wise, food is really tough,’ says Lisa Whitehouse, owner of Tender Years Day Nursery in Solihull (pictured below). ‘I’ve put my fees up as that is the only way to manage it. Over the 17 years I’ve owned the nursery, the pressure has grown and the profit has dropped.’

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