A food distribution company has secured two major school contracts worth more than £2 million.

This includes its first educational deal in South Wales.

Harlech Foodservice, which is based near Criccieth, Gwynedd, and has a base in Chester, has secured a £1.5 million contract to provide schools in Gwynedd with products, including Welsh beef.

The company also secured a £700,000, 12-month agreement to supply schools and care homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Tasty treats for pupils of Ysgol LlanystumdwyTasty treats for pupils of Ysgol Llanystumdwy (Image: Rick Matthews)

This forms part of a £6 million expansion plan to create 150 new jobs.

The Gwynedd contract supplies all schools in Gwynedd, including Ysgol Llanystumdwy, which was attended by Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

Head cook Alison Green at Ysgol Llanystumdwy said: "It’s a lovely school and it’s like a family here because you get to know all the children and they know you.

"I even get to go on all the school trips and I pack the lunches for them – it’s great that we’ve got a local company supplying us from literally just up the road so the deliveries are great."

Councillor Menna Trenholme, head of procurement for Gwynedd Council, said: "It’s very important to us as a Council and to the parents to have a local firm supplying our schools with local produce wherever possible and it’s very important for the local economy as well."

Harlech now has contracts with all six North Wales councils to supply schools and hopes the Rhondda Cynon Taf deal will be the first of many with South Wales authorities.

The opening of the new Carmarthen depot this spring, following the opening of their first in South Wales in Merthyr last year.

This has seen sales increase from £32 million to a record turnover of around £50 million, with profit at an all-time high of more than £2 million.

The firm’s sales director, Mark Lawton, said: "The renewal of the Gwynedd contract and our first major public sector deal in South Wales with Rhondda Cynon Taf Council enables us to demonstrate the range of products we can supply and the excellent service we provide.

"We now have a real presence right across Wales and I know the Welsh public sector has a desire to using Welsh suppliers whenever commercially possible."

Harlech employs 250 staff and runs a fleet of over 50 vehicles to deliver up to 5,000 product lines to cafés, restaurants, pubs, and public sector customers across Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands, and the North West.