THERE was great excitement in St Michael’s Infant School Sexton Street this week as they trialled the new hot food initiative being made available to DEIS schools nationwide.
In the recent Budget, Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty announced that hot meals will be available to an additional 35,000 children nationwide. Currently, all children in DEIS schools availing of funding are eligible to receive a cold lunch, with the option now to apply for hot food funding.
In an effort to showcase the seamless transition to hot food, Freshtoday school meal providers have been providing school staff nationwide with their tasty hot samples, to great effect.
St Michael’s School Principal Tracey Tobin said they introduced the Fresh Today range in September and the feedback from parents was extremely positive.
“The standard of the lunches is to be commended and the vast majority of our students avail of the scheme. The staff were recently treated to a sample of their hot food options and we were all very impressed by the equally high standard of the food, so much so, that we have now applied to be part of the pilot scheme which will be rolled out next year.
“As a principal and a parent, I am very excited about this hot food initiative, and with the wide range of food options to choose from, I am very confident it will meet the dietary requirements of all of the children,” Ms Tobin said.
Managing Director of Freshtoday for the West/South West Tony Mulcahy said they were delighted to introduce their quality hot meals service to Limerick Schools.
“Not only are we providing an exceptional level of nutrition, we are also the only providers doing so in a fully compostable manner. We offer a quality service that cares for both the child and the environment,” he explained.
With hot meals for primary school children a standard in the UK and Europe, it looks like this initiative will be a positive addition to the Irish school community.
If your school wishes to avail of a free hot tasting for staff, call 061-475996 or email [email protected]
