All schools need to hire the services of a dedicated caterer, but is to so hard to find a reliable one that a company which travels an astounding 500 miles to transport lunches every day needs to be employed? That's exactly what Nottingham based caterer Cygnet Catering are doing, as they by supply daily meals to more than 100 schools based in Dorset.
This journey takes up to four hours and all meals are transported in refrigerated Lorries. The scheme has been called 'ludicrous' by parents of the school children, and it has been criticised by government watchdogs who decry the 1,000 miles per week that the transportation distance incurs, costing about £80 in fuel. But Dorset County Council claim that this £1.2 million contract is 'value for money', and Cygnet defend their arrangement by claiming that the £2.02 cost of each lunch includes all fuel and transportation fees. However, when considering the environmental impact of this scheme, questions about the extent of one company's carbon footprint are raised