I AM writing to you in complete disgust.

How dare City of York Council consider increasing school meal prices by up to 25 per cent? (School meals prices shock, The Press, July 12) What exactly is it they are serving?

My son enjoys good, hearty food at his school, not fine dining. A typical meal is sausage and mash or chicken and pasta. The ingredients surely do not cost more than £1 per meal.

At my workplace, I can get a two-course meal in an unsubsidised canteen for £2.50. These are adult portions. Primary school children, in my opinion, eat approximately half an adult portion. It beggars belief that a portion of bangers and mash will be at least £2.20. What are they using? Gold-plated sausages? Is Gordon Ramsay cooking them over a bed of spinach? Are they making portions big enough for a small hippo?

I do not blame the schools, or the miracle-workers who cook the meals, but I think there are too many people employed who have never worked in a kitchen on high salaries not doing much. Too many people in authorities blame the "Jamie Olliver" effect. I would like to slap these people round the chops with a soggy Turkey Twizzler.

If the council disputes this, I will strike a deal with them. I will provide the contracts for all the schools, provide healthy meals, and pay the "important" staff such as the dinner ladies a proper wage. I could do this for £1.50 a child.

Come on City of York Council, explain yourself.

Adam McCartney, Brailsford Crescent, York.


* THE headline story and comments in Thursday's Press makes an understandable point, that £2 for a good quality school meal is fine for those who can pay.

There are many other costs involved in school life, both for those who can afford it and those who cannot.

If the school meals service operated at a loss of £90,000 as reported - allegedly due to the take-up remaining low - there is a message in there somewhere.

I suggest the "Jamie Oliver effect" has only worked by persuading authorities to alter the menus at great cost, but the parents have not been convinced that the much-hyped meals are worth the added cost to themselves.

In most cases, the children will decide what and how much to eat as parents know only too well.

Increasing the prices will do very little to reduce the financial hole, and will most likely deepen it.

One letter from a reader mentions how schools raise money by organising various events. The last paragraph of the letter makes a very good point and asks: "Why haven't we got an economic system that directs money to where it is really needed in our schools?"

Since it was the Government which decided we needed these types of school meals, let it pay for them.

J Beisly, Osprey Close, York.


A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "No decision has been taken regarding an increase in the price of school meals.

"A report outlining four different price options for school meals will be considered by the council's executive member for children's services and advisory panel on Thursday. The rising cost of school meals is not a problem confined to York, and it is not a service that is provided directly by the council.

"The contracts for the provision of school meals are let in a competitive market and the prices reflect real costs. If the council were to subsidise the price of school meals, it would be at the expense of other spending in schools and would almost certainly mean that there would be less money for such things as teachers, books and equipment."