Winning hearts and minds through business support for schools? Not with this recipe.

As a parent sitting on the occasional committee I have noticed local businesses offering their support. This seems to be through genuine altruism and a desire to support the local community, or because the owner/director is a parent too, or both.

It has been refreshing to see how, even in a big city, there are businesses that consider themselves part of a more tight-knit community - while at the same time seeing the genuine commercial advantage of being appreciated by local people. It's CSR at grass roots level.

Big national companies are looking to schools to win hearts and minds too.

I've never been one to worry too much about vouchers at the supermarket or petrol station check out - but I admit to have being won over by the offer of computers for schools, sports equipment for schools and the like. Before I was a parent I would have probably muttered under my breath that "the education authority should be providing those things anyway...". Instead I now eagerly grasp the little orange vouchers (from Sainsbury's) and feel a warm glow for the supermarket chain when I give the kids a neat little bundle to put in the box at school.

We never really get to find out how many computers we actually collected, but parents generally seem to appreciate the supermarket's donation and feel better about Sainsbury's when asked to vote in a Brand Index.

I'm not feeling quite so good about Flora margarine. They are conducting their version of supporting local schools online - and, unfortunately for them, this added visibility could be interpreted in one of two ways. It either exposes the failings of the campaign or exposes it as a less-than-generous, cynical exercise.

It's not helped by the fact that the vouchers are printed on the greasy paper inside the margarine tubs, which you then have next to your keyboard while you find your school on the Flora website.

For people not involved in this messy collecting game, the campaign looks great. There are TV ads in praise of Flora's generosity. Our school has had a big banner on the railings advertising the margarine for months now (how much is that worth?)

Actually, because the website allows us to see how many vouchers have been cashed in, I can see exactly how much it's worth: one whisk.

There is a national leader board on the Flora website, which the people who dreamed up this campaign probably expected would show how the company really, genuinely wanted to support cooking in schools.

Not quite. The top school, somewhere in Wales, has just about enough vouchers for a wooden spoon to share between two pupils. In Birmingham, Coleshill Heath can claim nine saucepans and, in second place, Hillstone Primary can look forward to receiving eleven rolling pins. At least it beats our whisk