Catering services at Walton are delivered by Diverse Catering, who embrace using natural ingredients, seasonal produce and ethical trading with many suppliers.

Menus are frequently refreshed every term to ensure they reflect the changing seasons and trends from the high street. The majority of all food served is freshly prepared from scratch on site by the catering team. Look out for our regular theme days, special offers and promotions throughout the year. We are also proud to say all our meals are nutritionally compliant with the Government Standards for Food Served in Schools.

Free breakfast for all students

In addition to our daily menus, we are pleased to offer free breakfast to all students every morning. This is available before school from the main dining area between 8.10am and 8.45am. We know that starting the day with a healthy breakfast can have a positive impact on learning, concentration and wellbeing, and we encourage all students to take advantage of this provision.

Catering provision

Our menus run on a three-weekly cycle during each term:

Autumn menu – week 1

Autumn menu – week 2

Autumn menu – week 3

All meals are served from the main kitchen with the addition of ‘The Kabin’ which is open at break and lunch. The ‘Kabin’ is very popular with students and serves ‘grab and go’ items for those who need to get to lunchtime clubs or to get something to go with their packed lunches.

Walton is an allergy aware school

As we have a student with a life threatening nut allergy, we kindly remind parents and carers not to put nut products in packed lunches or snacks brought into the academy. Thank you.

Payment

We operate a cashless catering system called Wisepay, which uses a secure biometric fingerprint system to allow students to purchase food and drinks. Parents and carers can add funds electronically to their child’s account via our secure online system. Cash top-up machines are also available in the academy for students who wish to add money to their account.

For more details please visit our payments web page here.

Free school meals

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility has been expanded to include all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit regardless of household earnings.

Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

  • universal credit
  • income-related employment and support allowance
  • support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • the guaranteed element of pension credit
  • Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.

From September 2026, there will be two categories of benefits-based free school meals:

Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing threshold, covering pupils who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less

Expanded FSM, a new category covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit

If you think that your child(ren) may be entitled to free school meals then you can either apply online via the Lincolnshire County Council website here or phone them on 01522 782030.

Once your application has been approved, the council will inform the academy and we can then start providing free school meals for your child(ren). We treat all recipients with complete discretion.

We are here to help, so contact us if you have any queries or concerns you would like to discuss directly with the academy.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, your local food bank can help. Walton Academy is able to issue food vouchers for exchange at the Grantham Foodbank. To access this service, contact Mrs Katie Bagnall, Business Manager, on 01476 563251 or by email at kbagnall@walton-ac.org.uk. All enquiries will be treated in confidence.