THE price of school meals in Carmarthenshire is to rise by 10p a day from next month — while the council spends 1p less for the food used to make them.

Faced with making £13 million worth of cuts, the authority has been looking at how it can raise extra funds.

And it is to push ahead with a proposal to up the amount it charges families for the meals, while spending less on them itself.

It puts the reduced outlay down to "more efficient procurement of food" and has defended the inflation-busting price hike, saying it brings the charges more into line with elsewhere in Wales.

The cost of school meals are increasing across Wales. In Swansea, school meals are going up from £1.90 to £2. In Neath Port Talbot, school meals currently cost £1.75 but the council has warned it will be raising prices and will be looking to bring them in line with the highest in Wales when they are discussed by a committee.

The moves are leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of parents.

Mother-of-two Lauren Jenkins, aged 24, of Sandy Road, Llanelli, said: "This is yet another rise in the cost of living.

"So many people are counting the pennies that any sort of increase above the price of inflation is a pain.

"I wish the council could get its house in order and stop charging residents over the odds."

And angry dad Jim Davies said: "It is quite a cheek to make parents pay more for cheaper food."

But Sandra Weigel, council catering services manager, said: "The price of school meals will increase by 10p as of April 19, 2010, to assist with budget pressures and to become more in line with other authorities in Wales — some of which have been charging much more than us in Carmarthenshire for quite some time.

Ms Weigel said: "When this comes into effect, all primary school meals will be £1.85, and the free token value in a secondary school will be £1.90."

And she defended the price of school meals.

"We are proud of the standards our catering service provides, producing a range of nutritionally-balanced meals at low cost, with a range of home-made meals and vegetarian alternatives," said Ms Weigel.

She said the authority did not believe that people would drop out of having school meals because of the increase.

"Our service is reflected in the fact that Carmarthenshire has one of the highest take-ups of school meals in the whole of Wales, at 61 per cent compared to a national average of 37 per cent, " said Ms Weigel.

Of the reduction in the amount the authority forks out for the meals, a spokeswoman added: "The spend per meal will go down by 1p.

"This is due to more efficient procurement of food, which means that each meal will cost less to produce."

A proposal is also on the cards to hike the price by a further 10p in 2011/12.