Catering services are devouring family-run school kitchens.

PalmOnly three out of ten schools offering lunch service have their own kitchen where the food is prepared. The rest depend on third parties: 63.2% use catering services, while 6.6% receive food from other schools, a system that, for all practical purposes, is also catering. Furthermore, the sector is highly concentrated. Five companies control 64% of the cafeterias in the Balearic Islands, and three of them manage 30 or more schools. This dynamic leaves little room for independent cooks and small businesses to make managing a single cafeteria viable. Operating costs are high, and competing on price with large companies—which can benefit from economies of scale and negotiate better with suppliers—becomes an uneven playing field. But a school cafeteria is much more than just cooking and serving food. Schools value those who manage it, as they are integrated into the life of the school, collaborate with the teaching staff, and understand that the cafeteria is an educational space. "When a company runs a single school, the service is of higher quality, and there's a better relationship with the management team, the children, and the teachers," explain sources from the Federation of Families of Mallorca (FAPA).

We spoke with three small companies that, despite tight margins, maintain a single school cafeteria with full dedication. Two have been working for over 20 years: one fears losing the bid next year, and the other is considering leaving because it's no longer profitable. The third took it on two years ago and wants to keep it.

Take 'Lassio'

He has been managing CEIP Es Puig de Lloseta, the school in his village, for two years.

Tomeu 'Lassio', a cook from Lloseta, decided to take over the kitchen at CEIP Es Puig two years ago. "Before, my wife and I had a restaurant, and we ran it for 10 years, but with the birth of our children, it became unsustainable. If I hadn't had the opportunity to take the bid, I don't know where I'd be," he explains. He handles everything himself: shopping, paperwork, and cooking for 150 students. "I like working at the school and being with the children, and I also have time for my own family," he says. The profit margins are minimal, and he only manages because he does everything himself. He chops, defrosts, refrigerates, and cooks himself, always with one goal: to serve traditional Mallorcan food. "I don't want to criticize the big companies, but the more schools you take on, the more room you have to negotiate, and you're more relaxed. Because this is a job. You have to control food temperatures, be very vigilant about allergies, and I'm one of them," he laments. "Large companies can submit cheap bids, and that's what the Administration wants," he laments.

Current regulations support this. As detailed in the diagnostic report on school cafeterias in the Balearic Islands, in the tender for the 2022-2025 period, financial bids could receive up to 16 points, while for the 2023-2026 period this figure increased considerably to 26. The additional 10 points were subtracted from the allocated section.

Margalida Oliver

She took her daughters to the CEIP Joan Veny i Clar school and has been the cook for over 20 years.

"I'm thinking of quitting." That's how Margalida Oliver sums up the difficult time she's going through after managing the cafeteria at the Joan Veny i Clar Primary School in Campos since 2002. "My history is tied to the school, because I also took my daughters there," she explains. The turning point came two years ago: half the students transferred to the new school in the municipality (which doesn't have a kitchen), and income was cut in half. "I had someone working full-time, but now they're part-time. I can't afford to get sick," she says. And the competition is fierce: "I can't compete with the big companies. At one point, I had to slash prices to win the bid, which only allows price increases according to the Consumer Price Index. Each year I earn less money, because I'm also the one who hires and pays the cafeteria supervisors," she laments. For her, the cafeteria is much more than a service. It's her home. She has managed the early morning and afternoon programs and knows the children as if they were her own. "I do it because I'm happy with the job and the place, because the children are happy and so are their families. I feel loved," she says. And she defends her cooking style: "I make very elaborate dishes, like pork loin with cabbage or meatball stews with traditional recipes. And everything is homemade and made with love. With catering services, which are so common now, it's not always like that. The food might arrive at 9 a.m. and then you have to reheat it."

Until a few years ago, she also managed the kitchen at the center's summer school, but the City Council awarded the contract to an external company. The result, she says, was disappointing: "They told me it was a disaster, oily, raw... and that the children rejected it." Oliver champions locally sourced cuisine: "It's what I can offer: that the children eat dishes fresh from the pan, that they feel loved, that we talk to them if they don't want to finish their plate, that they can come and see me in the kitchen," he lists.

He fears the day he has to leave, either by choice or to avoid losing his concession: "The quality of the people and the food will plummet," he asserts. "At Joan Veny Clar we have a kitchen, and of course they would come to cook here. But it's external people who come, do their job, and leave. It doesn't matter if the children finish their food or not," he adds.

Lluís París

A student and father at the CEIP de Prácticas school, his family has been cooking for decades.

The story of the CEIP de Prácticas school cafeteria is a family affair. Today, Lluís París and his mother run it, but before, his godmother did, back when the school was located in the basement of what is now the IES Josep Maria Llompart high school. "We've been here for 20 years, since I finished high school. And I'd love to retire, but I'm 40, and next year I have to apply for the new contract, and they could take it from me. There's no point system that considers the connection and involvement with the school. If they take it away from me, what will I do?" He and his mother provide meals every day for 220 students and teachers who bring their own packed lunches. Their continued operation, however, depends on a public tender that doesn't take into account experience, involvement, or deep roots in the school's educational project. París sums it up like this: "If everyone is happy and the service is running smoothly, large companies should face more obstacles to getting involved."

The cafeteria is also a community space, with supervisors who are alumni and children of teachers at the school, bonds built over years. "For someone who was a student eight years ago to now come asking to work with you is incredible," Paris explains enthusiastically. The positive atmosphere is palpable: everyone has known each other for many years, creating synergies that are hard to replicate.

As in many cafeterias, they have also suffered a loss of profit. But it doesn't matter. Paris would be willing to earn less if they could guarantee its continued operation. "The menu is capped at €6.85, and five of that is ours, because the rest is what the supervisors are paid. With these five euros, we have to buy all the food and also pay the salaries of the two cleaning staff," he laments. All this in a context where food prices have skyrocketed.

Both Paris, his mother, and the monitors play a prominent role in the center's educational and linguistic project. "We're a lunchroom teacher," he says with a laugh. In many cafeterias, despite the efforts of the management teams, the monitors ignore requests to maintain Catalan as the language of instruction. At Prácticas, the cafeteria is an ally. "I have some speakers and play music. One of the songs is..." Millions of Stars"They love it and they know it by heart. It's wonderful to see them sing it with their pure voices," she explains. And she also uses it to motivate the children: "Whoever gets along well tomorrow chooses the song," she tells them.