TRN-24-002 Transport of School Meals
- Buyer
- the Education Authority
- Value
- £21,000,000
- Closes
- 6 July 2028
- Where
- Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Type
- Dynamic purchasing system (open to join)
In plain English
The Education Authority is looking for transport contractors to deliver school meals to schools across all 11 council areas in Northern Ireland. This is a large contract worth £21 million, split into separate lots by geographic region.
What the buyer wants
• Operate reliable transport vehicles to collect and deliver school meals from central kitchens to individual schools on a daily basis • Maintain food safety and temperature control during transit to ensure meals arrive in safe condition • Provide scheduled collection and delivery services across one or more of the 11 Northern Ireland council areas
Lots
- Lot 1 - Antrim and Newtownabbey
- Lot 2 - Ards and North Down
- Lot 3 - Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
- Lot 4 - Belfast
- Lot 5 - Causeway Coast and Glens
- Lot 6 - Derry City and Strabane
- Lot 7 - Fermanagh and Omagh
- Lot 8 - Lisburn and Castlereagh
- Lot 9 - Mid and East Antrim
- Lot 10 - Mid Ulster
- Lot 11 - Newry, Mourne and Down
Likely requirements
Our reading of the notice. Always check the tender documents.
This contract is extremely unlikely to be suitable for small operators: the £21 million total value suggests large-scale regional operations with multiple vehicles, established food transport expertise, and ability to service multiple schools daily across an entire council area. Most sole traders or very small firms will lack the fleet size, insurance complexity, and operational capacity required.
How to bid
This is a Dynamic Purchasing System: an open list of approved suppliers. You can apply to join at any time while it runs, and once accepted you can bid for the individual contracts the buyer runs through it.
How dynamic purchasing systems work
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