Tuesday February 17th 2026
Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for school lunches, Councillor Dianne Alexander tucking into Quorn dippers.
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member for school meals, Councillor Dianne Alexander, visited Dalkeith Campus recently to encourage even more young people to enjoy the healthy, homemade lunches served daily across our schools.
Last year, Midlothian’s catering teams served well over 1.16 million meals, with more than 36,000 meals prepared each week. Uptake continues to be strong — the latest figures show, 59.84% of primary pupils were choosing a school meal, well above the Scottish average of 50.8%. Last year’s figures (2024/25) also show secondary school uptake at 38.22%, compared with the Scottish average of 36.7%.
Councillor Alexander said:
“I’m incredibly proud of the quality of our school meals and of the commitment of our catering teams. Every meal is homemade, healthy and nutritionally balanced, and it’s fantastic to see so many of our young people choosing them every day. School meals support learning, wellbeing and healthy habits for life — and our pupils deserve the very best.”
When visiting the Dalkeith Campus dining hall where staff serve just under 4,500 school meals a week, Councillor Alexander spoke to staff while pupils enjoyed their lunches from the menu that included homemade steak pie with vegetables and boiled potatoes and pasta in a tomato sauce with vegetables and garlic bread.
S2 pupil Josh Sheridan was tucking into a baked potato with cheese, while 16‑year‑old Joshua Ibikunle said his favourite meal is the chicken curry — though he was choosing pasta. “The portions are good,” he added.
Midlothian’s school meals follow the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and hold the ProVeg Bronze Award and the Bronze Food for Life Served Here certification. The council explained that their ambition is to reach Silver next year.
Every day, secondary school pupils can choose from two hot meals, soups, sandwiches, fresh fruit, vegetables and desserts, all sourced wherever possible from UK and Scottish suppliers. Local meat, vegetables and milk are used throughout the menu, and all fish served is from sustainable sources.
All P1–P5 pupils are entitled to free school meals, with affordable options for older pupils, including secondary school meal deals for £2.65 and £2.30 meals such as chicken fajitas with mixed salad for P6 and P7 pupils.
Councillor Alexander added: “Our message is simple — come along, try the meals, and enjoy great food that helps fuel great learning.”
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