‘Ballooning’ cost of burgers, pies and pasta at NSW school canteens revealed

It’s the new high cost of learning. Chicken burgers now cost more at the school canteen than they do at fast food giant McDonald’s. We reveal which schools have seen the biggest price hikes on tuck shop staples.

Canteen caterer Brooke Flanagan and husband John Potter with their daughters Lulu (11), Ruby (13), Lily (14) and Ruby (13). Brooke is one of the many private operators making a living by leasing school canteens across the state. Picture: Richard Dobson

A simple chicken burger costs more at some school canteens than at fast food giant McDonald’s amid soaring food prices, with NSW public school families forking out nearly $30 million at the tuck shop counter last year.

Analysis of canteen menus across 20 schools in Sydney and regional NSW shows prices are up between 10 and 50 per cent on common food items over the last two years, and the biggest price increases were seen where canteens are privately operated.

While a few tuck shops, especially those operated by the school’s P&C, kept the cost of a hot lunch or a healthy snack stable, most have increased their prices by at least a dollar per item.

On average, chicken burgers increased by 12 per cent, while the humble meat pie went up 14 per cent. Fruit salads have gone up by 15 per cent, from under $4 on average to more than $4.50, while spaghetti bolognese meals also increased by 50 cents.

Menus for St Raphael’s Catholic School in the regional town of Cowra show chicken burgers now cost $7.50, up from $5 two years ago, matching the price charged at Holsworthy Public School, one of nearly 50 schools serviced by Fresh Start Canteens.

Cost of learning: School canteen prices are up. Pictures: Supplied

The most expensive meat pies can be found at North Kellyville Public School where they now cost $5.80, up from $4.60 in 2022, which also had the most expensive fruit salads at $6.50.

It comes at a time of record privatisation for school canteens, with more than 500 public schools licenced out to independent operators, and record revenue.

Over the last decade licensed canteen income has nearly doubled, from $5.6 million in 2014 to $10.3 million in 2022, the most recent year for which NSW Department of Education data is available.

For-profit canteens are now operating in 23 per cent of public schools, up from 16 per cent in 2014, but take in nearly half the cash coming over the counter according to the department’s annual reports, which state total canteen sales revenue in 2022 was nearly $22.9 million.

At a Budget Estimates hearing last month, Education Minister Prue Car said she was “concerned about privatisation”, “across the board”, but said she respected schools to make decisions that are “best for them and their … community”.

“We certainly have to look at this carefully to ensure that parents aren’t unnecessarily having to dig into their own pockets,” she said.

A Department of Education spokesman said schools are given “clear guidance” to keep everyday items affordable.

“The cost of commercially produced goods is often outside the control of school canteens, especially those run by schools and P&Cs,” he said.

At Shelley Public School, where the canteen serves students of mostly low and middle-income backgrounds and is almost entirely volunteer-run, prices have remained consistent across the menu.

When manager of Shelley’s ‘Hunger Hut’ Keri Farkas tried to offset the cost of fresh food by raising the price of popcorn by 50c, students simply stopped buying popcorn, she said.

Mrs Farkas attributes the consistent prices to a few thrifty measures, from repacking mass-produced items like biscuits into smaller quantities and charging more for less-healthy snack items to making “90 per cent of what I sell”.

“The main reason I can keep my prices down is because I have an amazing group of volunteers around me … I’m the only one that gets paid, I’m the only wage that comes out,” she said.

“I make sure that the kids can always have a piece of fresh fruit, a sandwich and milk for $8.”

File image (2017): Students at Shelley Public School in Blacktown enjoy healthy lunches from ‘The Hunger Hut’ canteen. Picture: Peter Kelly

Greens MP and committee chair Abigail Boyd raised concerns about how “privatisation by stealth” could impact families’ budgets, especially those on low incomes.

“Whether it’s ballooning canteen prices propping up school budgets or the privatisation by stealth of school services, it’s parents and carers who are bearing the brunt,” she said.

“The NSW Government should be doing more to drive down these creeping costs rather than leaving households to foot the bill.”

School canteen caterer and mum of four Brooke Flanagan runs Brooke’s Canteen, a small business servicing 11 schools in Sydney’s southwest, and said inflation has made an impact on her bottom line.

Brooke Flanagan runs 11 school canteens and said avoiding raising prices requires some creative thinking. Picture: Richard Dobson

However, nutritious recipe substitutions rather than “cheap and nasty” alternatives have helped her balance the books, she said.

“I’m not greedy, for a ham and cheese and tomato sandwich I charge $3.50; at the petrol station they charge $8,” Mrs Flanagan said.

“Buying the produce … is obviously putting a dent in my profits, because it’s costing me more and I haven’t increased my prices in six years.

“For my spaghetti Bolognese I’ve tweaked my recipe since I first started, I’ve added lentils … they’re so cheap, and so much healthier for the students, and they’ve not even noticed the difference.”

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