Independent Catering of Sevenoaks has seen the take up of meals increase by up to 50% at the schools it supplies across Kent and Surrey.
With the introduction of a new interactive cashless payment system (SQUID), the company is expecting to see a further rise in the number of pupils taking up school meals.
The SQUID system, which has been successfully tested on school mums, and showed that parents were impressed by the system when they logged onto Independent Catering’s website and could easily see what their child was eating for lunch and how much was spent on school meals each day.
Owner Andrew Saunders who started the company 15 years ago said: “The introduction of our new cashless catering system will make it easier for schools, parents and pupils to enjoy hassle free school meals. Transactions are faster and cards are topped up online, meaning there is no need to take cash into school.
Balances are protected, so even if a card is lost the balance can be transferred over to a new card. When school meal numbers increase, schools too can invest the profit into better dining facilities.”