Welsh School Meals Rely on Up to 99.35% Imported Chicken as Councils Face Calls for Change

Chicken from nearly 6,000 miles away reaches Welsh schools

Merthyr Tydfil schools serve 99.35% of their chicken from Thailand and China, with poultry travelling nearly 6,000 miles before reaching children. Conwy reported 94% from Thailand and Brazil. The figures have brought school food purchasing under scrutiny at a time when the Welsh government wants public bodies to spend more on Welsh produce.

A Freedom of Information investigation by the Countryside Alliance approached all 22 Welsh local authorities about the origins of chicken used in school meals. Twenty responded. Three reported that more than 85% came from outside the European Union, including Caerphilly, which previously recorded 87.32% before changing its sourcing arrangements in September 2025.

Anglesey and Bridgend were the only two councils to confirm that all their school chicken came from the United Kingdom. No responding council could identify the specific proportion produced and reared in Wales, leaving a gap between commitments to support Welsh farming and the information available about what children actually eat.

The investigation covered every type of chicken product served in schools, including nuggets, burgers and roast chicken portions. It requested information for the most recent academic year available, asking councils to separate chicken produced and reared in Wales, elsewhere in the UK, in the EU and outside the EU.

As of February 4, 2026, the picture combines heavy reliance on imports with examples of councils changing their purchasing. Caerphilly has moved away from chicken produced and reared outside the UK and EU. Monmouthshire has replaced chicken curry with a chickpea korma as part of efforts to remove products associated with deforestation from school menus.

The debate reaches beyond the country printed on a delivery label. It concerns how councils balance price, dependable supplies, animal welfare, environmental damage and support for farmers, while keeping school meals safe and affordable.

What the council figures reveal

The Vale of Glamorgan reported that 68% of its school chicken came from Asian suppliers, while Newport recorded 53%. Alongside the much higher proportions in Merthyr Tydfil and Conwy, those figures show how sharply food origins can vary across council boundaries.

Ceredigion said it was unknown whether any of its chicken came from outside the EU. Cardiff gave a percentage for imports from outside the EU but could not identify the countries involved. Carmarthenshire acknowledged using frozen chicken from outside the EU without providing either country names or percentages.

The missing information makes it difficult for families and policymakers to follow the complete supply chain. A council may buy from a business based nearby while the chicken itself has been raised and processed overseas. Knowing who supplies a school kitchen and knowing where the animal was reared are different parts of tracking food origins.

Professor Roberta Sonnino, a specialist in sustainable food systems at the University of Surrey who previously taught at Cardiff University, described reliance on imported chicken as common across the UK. She said inconsistent records and transparency standards make it difficult to establish the full extent of imports in public canteens.

The investigation found patterns that have continued despite growing public awareness of food miles and carbon footprints. Food miles describe the distance food travels. A carbon footprint measures the greenhouse gases associated with producing, processing and transporting it.

Why purchasing contracts favour distant supplies

Welsh councils buy school food through formal public sector contracts, often organised around large quantities of standard products. These arrangements can keep prices down and make deliveries predictable, but smaller domestic producers can struggle to supply the required volumes consistently.

The Welsh Local Government Association said imported chicken appears in some schools because of availability pressures and tight budgets. Local supplies may be insufficient to meet demand at prices councils can afford.

Chicken from Thailand and China typically arrives frozen, having been processed and packaged weeks before reaching Welsh school kitchens. That supply chain offers cost advantages which fresh poultry sourced locally struggles to match. Sonnino said councils buy distant chicken primarily to save money, with environmental effects and support for local agriculture receiving less weight than the price of each product.

Welsh farmers and smaller poultry businesses also face complicated bidding procedures, large minimum supply requirements and inflexible contracts. The Countryside Alliance found that purchasing arrangements can tie councils to agreements lasting several years, favouring large importers and restricting access for regional producers.

More flexible regional purchasing could give local farms a greater role, retain spending in rural communities and strengthen the ability to maintain food supplies through disruption. Years of squeezed profit margins, labour shortages and rising costs have already made it harder for British poultry producers to invest and plan.

Merthyr Tydfil Council said it works with local suppliers and follows purchasing criteria aligned with Welsh government regulations. Conwy said it uses Welsh produce when that is viable, sustainable and represents best value.

The Welsh Local Government Association stressed that all chicken served in schools must meet strict UK food safety and hygiene standards, whatever its origin. Councils, it said, are working to improve sustainability and support local supply chains while keeping meals safe, affordable and consistently available. The investigation nevertheless found that these efforts had not reversed reliance on distant supplies across the majority of Welsh authorities.

Parents and farmers challenge the choices

Leah Wright, whose child aged eight attends school in Merthyr Tydfil, expressed surprise that school meals contained chicken from so far away. She had assumed that ingredients for such an important service would be sourced locally, particularly when supporting local businesses and maintaining community stability were pressing economic concerns.

Megan Ellis, also from Merthyr Tydfil and the mother of a child aged two, said she would choose packed lunches rather than free school meals for her daughter if the situation continued. She believed Wales should provide school meals from within the country instead of relying on imports.

Their concerns reflect frustration that public spending is supporting agriculture abroad while local farmers face financial pressure. For families, the issue also challenges assumptions about what a meal provided by a local authority contains.

Hefin Jones, a Conwy farmer and father of three, questioned the logic of reducing domestic food production while buying chicken transported across the world. He described his concerns about food security, animal welfare and climate policy:

As a Welsh farmer, I am deeply disappointed and frustrated to learn that 94% of the chicken Conwy County Borough Council use to feed all primary school kids is imported from places like Thailand and Brazil. At the same time as high quality food production here in Wales is being reduced, we are apparently expected to accept lower quality food being shipped halfway around the world. That makes no sense for food security, animal welfare, or the climate.

Rachel Evans, director of Countryside Alliance Wales, called for urgent government action to change purchasing practices. She pointed to the contrast between chicken shipped from distant countries and Welsh farmers working to what the organisation describes as some of the highest animal welfare standards globally.

The Countryside Alliance argues that public money for school meals should support Welsh farming communities rather than overseas producers working under different regulatory frameworks. Its demands cover both the rules for awarding contracts and the information councils must publish.

The environmental costs extend beyond transport

Frozen chicken transported from Thailand and China generates greenhouse gas emissions along its journey to Welsh schools. Sonnino said these long journeys create a carbon footprint at odds with Wales' environmental commitments. Those environmental costs are not included in the price councils pay for each serving.

Livestock feed adds another layer. A report from environmental organisations Size of Wales and WWF Cymru connected rainforest destruction in the Amazon with pollution in Welsh rivers, including the Wye. It identified imported soy used to feed animals as a link between the two problems.

A substantial share of chicken imported into the UK relies on soy feed grown in regions associated with deforestation. Soy is also used by farms in Wales: about 80% of the soy brought into Wales goes into feed for poultry and dairy production.

Soy contains high levels of phosphorus. After animals eat it, phosphorus passes into manure. When manure is spread on agricultural land and washes into rivers, it can contribute to phosphate pollution. Approximately 23 million chickens are raised in the River Wye catchment, the area from which water drains into the river, contributing to its nutrient overload.

The Wye has experienced severe phosphate pollution. Other protected Welsh river networks, including the Usk and Cleddau, also fail to meet phosphate pollution targets. The environmental challenge therefore involves how animals are fed and how manure is managed, alongside how far meat travels.

Barbara Davies-Quy of Size of Wales said purchasing decisions in Wales affect forests and communities thousands of miles away. She linked purchases of cheap chicken fed on soy, and corned beef from South American countries associated with deforestation risk, to damage in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests and harm to indigenous peoples.

The Ava Guarani people in western Parana, Brazil, have lost ancestral land to soy plantations. Community leader Karai Okaju said agribusiness had destroyed their rivers, forests and food sources.

Shea Buckland Jones of WWF Cymru described a trail of destruction stretching from Brazilian forests to Welsh waterways through Wales' reliance on imported soy. The report called on governments and councils to change food purchasing, avoid goods that may have contributed to deforestation and support domestic agriculture that does not depend on imported feed.

Vegetables show a wider sourcing problem

School chicken is part of a broader pattern in public catering. A 2017 investigation found that Scottish councils were buying chicken from Thailand and turkey from Brazil for school dinners, showing that distant sourcing also affects other parts of the UK.

Food Sense Wales says only 6% of vegetables served in Welsh schools are grown in Wales. The remaining vegetables come from elsewhere. The charity is working towards a target of 10% organically grown Welsh vegetables in schools by 2028, while warning that climate change and global instability are pushing up the price of food from abroad.

Katie Palmer of Food Sense Wales said Welsh businesses currently grow enough vegetables to provide each person in Wales with only a quarter of a portion. Increasing local purchasing therefore requires more growing capacity as well as different council contracts.

Castell Howell, the food wholesaler based in Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, supplies ingredients for 700,000 school meals each week at 1,000 Welsh schools. The company is working with local growers to shorten supply chains.

Edward Morgan, its group manager, said harvesting vegetables and moving them quickly to schools helps retain nutritional value while reducing food miles. The Welsh Veg in Schools project, coordinated by Food Sense Wales with government funding, aims to develop the skills and capacity local growers need to supply public bodies.

Jenny Rathbone, Labour Member of the Senedd for Cardiff Central, raised food purchasing during a Plenary session in September 2025. She urged her own Welsh government to improve public procurement so Welsh businesses could feed children, rather than importing chicken from Thailand and processed food containing palm oil.

Councils demonstrate different routes to change

Caerphilly's earlier figure of 87.32% chicken from outside the EU has been superseded by a change in sourcing. The council announced that, from September 2025, none of the chicken used in school meals was produced and reared outside the UK and EU.

Caerphilly has also introduced mandatory criteria requiring food purchasing to avoid deforestation. Its changes include reducing ultra processed foods and sourcing meat and dairy with higher welfare standards and organic certification, alongside Fairtrade coffee and cocoa.

Monmouthshire became Wales' first Deforestation Free Champion council after campaigning by local school pupils. The authority examined school meal provision across the county, reduced palm oil use and sourced all its beef from Wales.

A chickpea korma meeting its requirements on deforestation replaced chicken curry on school menus. The change addresses the environmental concerns partly by changing the meal itself, while other councils have focused on changing where their chicken comes from.

A delegation of Monmouthshire pupils was invited to speak by video link at the COP30 climate summit about their success in influencing council purchasing policies. Their campaign brought children into decisions about the food served in their own schools.

Caerphilly and Monmouthshire show that purchasing arrangements can change to give environmental responsibility and local economic support greater weight while maintaining nutritional standards. Their approaches also differ: one has changed chicken origins, while the other has combined local beef sourcing with changes to ingredients and menus.

Funding and farming policy pull in different directions

The Welsh government says it is committed to increasing the use of Welsh food in schools. Officials are working with local authorities, producers and wholesalers to shorten supply chains, reduce food miles and support Welsh growers, farmers and manufacturers.

The government has set an ambition to increase public sector spending on Welsh food by 50% by 2030. That target covers public purchasing more broadly, while school meals provide a large and regular market for food businesses.

An extra £8 million for Universal Primary Free School Meals raised the funding rate to £3.40 per meal. The Countryside Alliance says the rate still falls short of fully reflecting the higher cost of Welsh and British chicken produced to high welfare and environmental standards.

The organisation argues that funding and contract rules must work together. Councils seeking more domestic poultry need both purchasing arrangements that allow it and budgets capable of meeting the cost, rather than a choice between keeping expenditure down and supporting local agriculture.

The Sustainable Farming Scheme launched on January 1, 2026, could reduce livestock numbers by 5%. Evans highlighted the tension between importing chicken for public meals and constraints on domestic farming, as Wales seeks to increase local food consumption.

Derek Walker, Wales' Future Generations Commissioner, has called for a public sector free from deforestation by 2028. Asked about moving away from cheap imported food while budgets are squeezed, he said the cost of failing to change was huge in terms of the climate emergency.

Walker also argued that reform could benefit the Welsh economy through greater purchases of locally produced goods while supporting responsible decisions internationally. The Welsh government said it recognises the need to reduce impacts associated with deforestation through supply chains and international partnerships, describing this as an effort requiring participation across Wales to protect the planet for future generations.

The dates and decisions shaping school food

The debate has developed over several years, with investigations, political pressure and changes in council purchasing now intersecting with national funding and farming policy. The main dates are:

• 2017: An investigation found Scottish councils importing chicken from Thailand and turkey from Brazil for school dinners.
• September 2025: Caerphilly said its school chicken was no longer produced and reared outside the UK and EU. Jenny Rathbone also raised public food procurement in the Senedd that month.
• January 1, 2026: The Sustainable Farming Scheme launched, with a possible reduction of 5% in livestock numbers.
• February 4, 2026: Welsh school chicken sourcing remains under scrutiny following the Countryside Alliance investigation.
• 2028: Food Sense Wales aims for 10% organically grown Welsh vegetables in schools, while Derek Walker has called for a public sector free from deforestation.
• 2030: The Welsh government aims to increase public sector spending on Welsh food by 50%.

The Countryside Alliance wants mandatory, standardised reporting of food origins in public catering. Every local authority would publish clear information about where school food was produced, giving parents, taxpayers and policymakers a more consistent way to assess purchasing decisions.

The organisation also wants procurement frameworks reviewed so Welsh and British produce receive greater priority. Its proposed criteria would give animal welfare, environmental effects and food miles weight alongside price when councils award contracts.

Merthyr Tydfil's 99.35% figure captures the scale of dependence on distant suppliers, while Caerphilly's change shows that councils can redirect purchases. The next task is to turn commitments on Welsh food and deforestation into contracts, reliable supplies and records that make the origins of school meals visible.

The Essentials

• Merthyr Tydfil reported 99.35% of school chicken from Thailand and China, travelling nearly 6,000 miles.
• Conwy reported 94% from Thailand and Brazil; the Vale of Glamorgan and Newport recorded 68% and 53% from Asian suppliers.
• Twenty of Wales' 22 councils responded to the investigation. Anglesey and Bridgend alone confirmed entirely UK chicken supplies.
• No responding council identified the specific proportion of chicken produced and reared in Wales.
• Caerphilly moved from 87.32% chicken from outside the EU to sourcing only within the UK and EU from September 2025.
• Monmouthshire replaced chicken curry with chickpea korma, reduced palm oil use and sourced all beef from Wales.
• Environmental concerns include transport emissions, deforestation associated with soy feed and phosphate pollution in Welsh rivers.
• School meal funding rose to £3.40 per meal following an extra £8 million. The government aims to increase public spending on Welsh food by 50% by 2030.
• The Countryside Alliance is calling for transparent food origin reporting and purchasing rules that give more weight to Welsh and British produce.