DARINA ALLEN, THE founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co Cork, has blasted the Hot School Meals programme as “not fit for purpose” and in need of urgent changes.

Appearing at an Oireachtas Education Committee to discuss the food programme, the celebrity chef claimed there’s “very little transparency on how the meals are produced” by providers.

Allen further said that “ultra processed food” is causing “harm” children – including to their diet and to their ability to concentrate and learn in class – as she called for more locally produced food to be used by schools.

But Allen received pushback from some members of the committee, who pointed to the expanded rollout of the programme since it started in 2019.

Darina Allen appearing at today's committee. Oireacthas Oireacthas

Saint Vincent de Paul and child poverty NGO Barnados also told the committee that the meals programme had meant that “every child is guaranteed a hot meal”, while also reducing strain on hard-pressed families.

Meath-based Fine Gael senator Linda Nelson Murray said the committee had heard from schools a week earlier, in which organisations including the Education and Training Board outlined that staff and families had an “overwhelmingly” positive experience the programme.

“We’re so different in what we’re saying,” Nelson Murray told Allen.

“We’re just really starting on this. Six years ago it was in 36 schools – it’s now available to 3,200 schools and 500,500 schools, so I think fair play that we have that and children are actually getting a meal.”

Nelson Murray cited the example of children who can be “picky” about their food, but accepted that “we have to fine tune” the lunch programme, with a focus on nutrition as part of that.

The meals are prepared centrally and are reheated in the school, but Allen said this was contributing to the problem from a nutrition point of view.

“Each reheating further degrades the nutrient density,” Allen told the committee this morning.

In her address, Allen said that a focus on “lost cost” meals risks “diet-related illness” in the future, which Allen said will cause further burden on State finances.

Instead, she wants to see schools “connect with local producers” who prepare the food within a much closer radius

“With every bite comes the potential to either damage or enhance a child’s health,” Allen said.

Deprivation levels

However, a number of organisations supported the programme as having been crucial for families in poverty, while accepting that changes may need to be made over time to the quality of the food.

Stephen Moffatt – national policy Manager at Barnardos – told the committee that meals are “constant stress” for families who work with the charity.

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Stephen Moffatt of Barnardos Ireland Oireachtas Oireachtas

Moffat said one of the benefits of the programme has been that the programme in its current form already “improves the nutrition” intake for children, as it means they’re getting meals they may not otherwise.

The committee heard further from the head of social justice and policy at Saint Vincent de Paul Louise Bayliss, who pointed to CSO figures showing that 49% of one-parent households experience higher deprivation and poverty levels.

“We do absolutely want nutritional meals for children but there is high level of deprivation out there,” Bayliss said.

Dr Naomi Feely – policy director for the Children’s Rights Alliance – said the success of the programme will “vary depending on the community”, adding that it may need to be tailored to each area depending on the challenges they face.

Áine Lynch of the National Parents’ Council said that a key measure needed is to see children “have time” to sit and eat their food.

When The Journal did a callout for experiences of the programme last week, this was reported by a number of parents and teachers, who were concerned that the current timetable doesn’t allow enough time for the meals.

The committee heard today that children are often in a rush to play games in their break, meaning they don’t often eat their food very quickly, or leave a lot uneaten.

Lynch said today that the National Parents’ Council wants the programme has been a “success”, but that the timetable and nutrition were two areas the organisation would like to see work on.