THE sheer scale of the operation to offer free school dinners to primary school pupils was revealed today.

The authorities have had to buy 14,000 plates, 19,000 pasta bowls, 18,000 pudding bowls, 8,000 tumblers!

Across the county around 40,000 infant pupils aged between four and seven will receive free healthy lunches – with one dish comprising of some 7,300 metres of sausages, 6,000 kilos of mash, 3,000 kilos of vegetables and 3,000 litres of gravy!

County Coun Nikki Hennessy, lead member for schools, said: “This is a great time to be a Key Stage 1 pupil in Lancashire – an excellent education, and a free school meal too.

“School meals are carefully planned for nutritional value, and fresh, local produce is used where possible.

“I’m very proud of the way our school meals staff have worked with the church authorities and contractors to ensure this can go ahead, which is no small achievement in a county the size of Lancashire.”

Roger Eakhurst, County Hall’s assistant director responsible for school catering, said: “It’s been quite a challenge to ensure that Lancashire’s 40,500 Key Stage 1 pupils can have free school meals.

“We’ve been hard at work on nearly 200 projects, mostly to upgrade kitchens, but also installing large equipment and in a few cases a full new kitchen.

“The majority of schools will also need more light kitchen equipment – pots, pans, plates and so on – and around 200 extra staff have been recruited.”