Evidence your compliance with UK School Food Standards and EYFS nutrition guidelines - with real-time dashboards, audit tools and reports built for everyone from single settings to local authorities.
Free demo available · Tailored to your setting · From £24.99/month
From a single nursery to a 200-school local authority - Lunchbox Lab scales to your needs and speaks the language of your role.
School business managers and catering leads are responsible for ensuring their setting meets the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 - but most have no systematic way of proving it.
Pupil meal feedback - QR code accessible, no login required
Multi-academy trust operations and catering leads face the challenge of maintaining consistent food standards across multiple sites. Lunchbox Lab's authority dashboard gives you a single aggregated view across every school in your estate.
Live compliance dashboard - menu intention vs audit reality
Local authority school food officers and public health leads need visibility across dozens or hundreds of settings. Lunchbox Lab gives you a continuous, data-driven picture of school food quality across your authority.
Trust and authority-wide compliance visibility at a glance
Catering contractors are increasingly asked to evidence nutritional compliance as part of contract tenders and ongoing monitoring. Lunchbox Lab lets you manage compliance across all contracted schools from a single platform.
Compliance status by food group with AI-generated improvement tips
Nurseries and early years settings are subject to EYFS nutrition guidelines and Ofsted scrutiny - but almost no software is built specifically for their needs. Lunchbox Lab is purpose-built for EYFS, with compliance checks tailored to ages 1–5.
EYFS food group compliance status with improvement recommendations
Several significant policy changes are underway - schools, nurseries and MATs with their compliance evidence in order will be in a far stronger position.
The government announced in April 2026 a revision to the School Food Standards, with new requirements taking effect from September 2027. Settings with compliance monitoring already in place will be significantly better prepared.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill extends School Food Standards to all state-funded primary schools including at breakfast. 2,000 new schools join the free breakfast scheme from April 2026.
Free school meal eligibility extends to all children in Universal Credit households - significantly increasing the scale and scrutiny of what your kitchen serves.
New statutory guidance on allergy safety in schools will require settings to have a dedicated allergy safety policy for the first time - confirmed in Hansard, February 2026.
Under the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014, schools must ensure food provided meets standards across food groups, nutrients and restricted items. Most schools have no systematic way of demonstrating this to an inspector, governor or local authority officer.
Lunchbox Lab gives you a continuous, timestamped, audit-ready record - a live dashboard any authorised user can interrogate at any time, not a spreadsheet updated once a term.
Sources: Parliamentary written answer March 2026 (UIN 122983); House of Commons Library research briefing March 2026; Hansard Lords report stage February 2026; School Food Review; FSA/DfE 2022 Compliance Pilot. September 2027 implementation confirmed by UK Government in April 2026.
Three interconnected groups - one platform. Every stakeholder gets genuine value, and school and home nutrition can finally join up.
MATs, independent school groups and local authorities access real-time, aggregated compliance data across every setting - not just compliance intention, but compliance reality.
Lunchbox Lab transforms nutritional planning and compliance checking from a manual task into an automated process - giving catering teams and school leaders confidence in what they're serving.
Parents and carers receive clear, accessible insight into what their children are eating at school and why it matters - creating a consistent nutritional message on both sides of the school gate.
One platform for recipe analysis, audit management, nutritional reporting and parent engagement - aligned to UK School Food Standards and EYFS guidelines.
Upload your recipes and menus. Lunchbox Lab automatically checks them against School Food Standards food group requirements, nutritional targets and restricted item rules - and flags what needs attention.
School Food StandardsReplace paper-based audits with structured digital questionnaires - Food Offer, Nutritional Balance, Food Safety, Environmental Impact, Staff Training and more. Responses stored, timestamped and reportable.
Audit-readySee your compliance gap - the difference between menu intention and audit reality - at a glance. Track trends over time and drill into specific areas where standards are not being met.
Live reportingTrack the proportion of ultra-processed food in your menus - an increasingly important measure for school food quality. Not addressed by any other school food compliance tool.
UPF analysisPurpose-built compliance monitoring for nursery and early years settings, aligned to EYFS nutrition guidance for ages 1–5. Track sodium, free sugars, dairy portions, protein variety and more.
EYFS / NurseryFor MATs, local authorities, nursery groups and catering contractors - aggregate compliance data across your estate. Identify which settings need support and share reports with governors.
MAT & LAGenerate PDF reports on your school's menu and nutritional standards, ready to share with parents. No parent login required. Demonstrate your commitment to healthy school food transparently.
Parent engagementEvery audit response and menu generates AI recommendations - specific, prioritised and referenced to the relevant standard. Actionable guidance tied to your actual data, not generic advice.
AI insightsDeploy QR codes for parent surveys, student meal feedback and governor compliance reviews - no app download required. Responses feed directly into your compliance dashboard.
Feedback toolsNo IT department required. Lunchbox Lab is a web application - set up is straightforward and we support you through onboarding.
Register your setting, choose your subscription and invite your team.
Add recipes to the platform or browse the shared recipe marketplace. We can help you get started.
Complete a Food Offer Audit or Nutritional Balance check using our structured digital questionnaires.
Generate a PDF for parents, governors or your local authority - and track your progress over time.
All subscriptions run on an annual contract. Pay monthly or pay upfront annually and save 10%. No per-user fees, no hidden costs.
Parents and carers can access inspiring family recipes and nutritional insights. When a school subscribes, families unlock a lower rate - giving schools a tangible benefit to share with parents.
For families whose school does not yet subscribe to Lunchbox Lab.
Unlocked automatically when a child's school subscribes.
40% saving - unlocked by your schoolQuestions about pricing? Email holly@lunchboxlab.co.uk
Book a free demo tailored to your setting, trust or authority. No commitment required.
