Lorry driver shortage blamed for Lancashire school dinner menu cuts

The new school lunch menus start on Monday

About 500 schools will be offering a reduced lunch menu from next week due to the national lorry driver shortage.

Lancashire County Council (LCC), which provides 65,000 meals a day, said food deliveries were being hit by the issue.

Education bosses have still promised a healthy meal every day for each child while stock levels are replenished.

From Monday, schools will focus on providing jacket potatoes, soups and sandwiches rather than a full menu. Fresh fruit will still be available.

Yogurt and daily dessert options, as well as fresh organic milk or drinking water, complete the temporary menus.

Jayne Rear, the county council's cabinet member for education and skills, said: "We're reducing the menu for all our schools to make it fair for everybody.

"We will reduce it for a couple of weeks so we can replenish our stocks hopefully to be back running after half-term.

"It has been so, so difficult to recruit drivers and it is across the country and we are doing all we can."

As the fourth largest authority in England, LCC procures a large amount of food and drink, with 80% of meals freshly prepared and cooked in school kitchens.

The authority said it has strict specifications for its school meals.

All of its suppliers are classified as "local" while 75% of the food it purchases is produced in the UK.

Jayne Rear hopes full menus will be restored after half-term

Julie Goodwin, headteacher of St Lawrence CE Primary School in Barton, said: "I'm happy the menu we are providing meets all the nutritional requirements.

"We are going to try and jig it around a little bit.

"The bottom line is that they are going to get a warm meal and there will be a variety. We know our children well and we will be able to cater for everybody."

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