40,000 school meals are served up to Hertfordshire pupils daily

Hertfordshire Catering, the county council's school meals provider, has seen uptake soar by 18.5% in the last three years - the highest figures for over a decade. Lin O'Brien, head of Hertfordshire Catering, said: "Hitting the 40,000 mark is a ten year record for Hertfordshire. We've calculated that in the financial year 2009/10 our team of catering staff produced a total of 7,425,750 lunches." Latest figures reveal that primary meal uptake overall was 44.7% and in the spring term 2010 went up to 48.3%, compared with a national average of 39.3%. Figures for secondary schools are also encouraging. Around 12,500 meals a day are being served - a 37.5% take up compared with a national average of 35%. O'Brien continued: "The key to our success is that we are customer focused, involving children in developing our menus and trialling new dishes. We use consistent, high quality ingredients, and keep parents informed though our range of menu leaflets. And we have a committed team of catering staff preparing good school food every day."