In response to the problem of school lunches and dormitories suddenly not being provided in various parts of the country, the president of Hoyu, a company in Hiroshima City that provides meals, said in an interview that nearly half of the approximately 150 facilities nationwide are no longer able to provide meals. On top of that, the company will file for bankruptcy proceedings with the court, claiming that it has become difficult to continue the business due to the fact that it has not been able to proceed as expected due to the fact that the passing on of soaring food and labor costs to mid-market prices has not proceeded as expected.
Hoyu, headquartered in Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, has been involved in school lunches, student dormitories, and cafeterias for government offices, but since the beginning of this month, high schools, special needs schools, and police academies in various regions have been unable to provide school lunches and meals.
Yoshiki Yamaura, president of Hoyu, said in an interview on the evening of the 6th, "We thought about continuing our business until the beginning of next month and handing it over to another operator, but we didn't have enough time," revealing that nearly half of the approximately 150 facilities nationwide are no longer able to provide school lunches and meals.
In addition, "some facilities have been handed over to other operators."
As for the reason why it became difficult to continue the business, he explained, "As food, utilities, and labor costs soared, we consulted with schools and other organizations about raising prices, but we were unable to pass on the price increase as we had hoped."
He then expressed his intention to file for bankruptcy proceedings with the court, saying, "I would like to use the national system to pay my employees the salaries I have been in."