This week’s eye-catching figures feature a miniscule uplift in government funding for free school meals, a waste reduction campaign by St Austell Brewery, lobbying of government departments by food businesses, and an incentive for the people of Cardiff to recycle their paper cups.
3p. Increase in the rate the government will pay for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals from £2.58 to £2.61 for the academic year 2025 to 2026. The below inflation increase of just 1% has fuelled concerns that caterers and schools will face even greater budgetary pressures in the year ahead.
80%. The reduction in general waste targeted by St Austell Brewery across its 45 managed pubs. The brewery has partnered with waste management company Biffa to deliver the ambition through a combination of waste segregation measures, including colour-coded bins, and staff engagement initiatives.
209. Number of meetings held between UK Government ministers and representatives of casual dining chains in the period 2020 to 2024. The number is dwarfed by the number of meetings with retailers (1,004) across nine government departments, according to analysis of business lobbying activity by The Food Foundation.
5p. The sum that can be earned by Cardiff residents and visitors who return a paper cup to certain shops within the city. Keep Wales Tidy has partnered with the National Cup Recycling Scheme and waste sorting app, Bower, for a three-month pilot of an AI-based scheme that will enable people to recycle their used paper cups at participating Caffè Nero, Costa Coffee, Greggs, McDonald’s and Pret a Manger stores.
