School meals

All of our schools follow the new school food guidelines set by the Scottish Government which came into effect from 8 April 2021. A summary of these can be viewed in the school menus section.

View School Menus

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Free school meals for Primary 1 to 5

Our catering service is proud to provide good value meals using quality ingredients carefully sourced.

The following regularly appear on our menus:

• Beef, pork, lamb from farm assured sources within Scotland
• Processed pork products from farm assured sources within the UK
• UK Red Tractor Chicken products in all our primary schools
• Highland free range eggs
• Local fruit and vegetables from Swansons Fruit Company, Inverness. Swansons source locally produced fruit and vegetables from the Highland region when it is available and in season.
• Schools growing their own fruit and vegetables are encouraged to include this as part of their lunch provision.

We currently serve 18,000 lunches per day in 173 primary schools and 29 secondary schools.  We are moving gradually to an annual menu.  From 2026 we will update our menus every 12 months after the Easter Break.  We consult with pupils and staff to improve the food choices and recipes. The menus offer a choice of freshly cooked, nutritionally balanced meals and include favourites such as macaroni cheese, fish and chips, chicken korma and healthy home baking.

School meals for children in Early Years and Primary 1 to 5 are free. 

School meals for Primary 6 and 7 are £2.40 however families with children in primary 6 and 7 who receive the Scottish Child Payment can apply for free school meals. This will be for free school meals only and not holiday payments or the clothing grant. 

Secondary school main meals are £2.65.  A selection of snack items are also available in Secondary schools, the pricelist can be viewed on the school menu page.

We offer seasonal meals where over 75% of the menu is freshly prepared with ingredients that are GM free, with no undesirable E-numbers or hydrogenated fats.

All our primary schools and early years & childcare settings have been awarded the bronze Food for Life Served Here award (FFLSH) from the Soil Association. 

Apply for free school meals

Special diets and nutrition

If your child needs a special diet for school meals, further information is available on our special diets webpage.