‘Hot school meals – a close look’

Sir, – In relation to the opinion piece on hot meals being provided in primary schools and some of the responses published (Ruth Hegarty, “Hot school meals: A close look at the ingredients list is not pretty. This is industrial food”, Opinion & Analysis, April 30th; Letters, May 2nd), to my mind Mary MacDonald’s response hits the most important point of all: without these meals, some children may not receive food at all – let alone nutritious and sustainably sourced foods. No matter the school, it is not always possible to identify a child suffering from deprivation.

As with all policy, the perfect should not be allowed to become the enemy of the good. Were the State to set parameters about nutritional quality, organic provenance, standard of packaging, etc, at this early stage of the programme, then invariably we could expect news articles and opinion pieces about how inaccessible and costly the programme is, and how it only serves already non-deprived areas of the country.

With regards to the issue of waste, for most schools it is not feasible or affordable to build a kitchen on site and hire the appropriate staff. Therefore, they must contract the provision of meals to a dedicated provider. A school has a lot of choice in who they choose to sign up with in this regard.

My daughter’s school started serving hot meals this week and the board of management took great care to find a provider that offered good variety and quality of food, and who supports the reduction in waste. Meals are served in a biodegradable box which the children put into a specially provided lunch box to bring home with them. We have been asked to provide reusable cutlery daily.

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To make improvements, the parents must encourage the schools to act responsibly and to seek providers that offer the right quality fare.

Expecting the Department of Education to direct schools in this way will likely lead to the most deprived child suffering, while those who have the luxury of choice argue the details. – Yours, etc,

STUART NOLAN,

Walkinstown,

Dublin 12.