Limerick school sending small fridges and food to families living in emergency accommodation

School pricipal said that in her 26 years teaching in a Deis school, parents' stories now are the most desperate

Traci Tobin, principal, St Michael’s Infant School, Limerick City and member of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation’s Central Executive Committee, with Naomi Feely, Children's Rights Alliance Senior Research and Policy Manager.

A primary school in Limerick is so worried about hungry pupils from homeless families it is lending small fridges to improve access to food, the principal told an event on child poverty. 

Traci Tobin, principal of St Michael’s Infant School in Limerick City, said in her 26 years teaching in a Deis school, parents' stories now are the most desperate, thanks to “a huge increase” in homelessness.

“My school has a number of desk-top fridges which we loan to parents and families who end up in hotel accommodation, through no fault of their own, and when they move into hubs they give us back the fridges and we give them out again to other families,” she said.

They also send food to the families and she told the event: “I remember going shopping and thinking what is the easiest thing to cook in a hotel room.” 

Joe O’Brien, Minister of State for Community Development, Integration and Charities with Tanya Ward, CEO of the Children’s Rights Alliance, and Denise Charlton, CEO of Community Foundation Ireland.

Other families also face challenges, with one mother telling Ms Tobin money spent on activities this summer meant less money for groceries.

Eoghan O’Byrne, principal St Mary’s national school, also in Limerick, said food poverty became obvious during the covid-lockdowns because so many families rely on schools to feed their children.

Children can have breakfast, hot lunch and eat at an afterschool service through a mix of State, charitable and philanthropic funding at the school.

“So that’s three hot meals a day. If you’re looking at a family of three or four, that’s 12 hot meals a day and if you put that in a week that’s 60 meals possibly a week that a family is reliant on statutory agencies to provide,” he said.

It’s so obvious the impact of food poverty on our children, and when they don’t have food coming in you can see that. They’re detached, they’re withdrawn, they’re emotionally dysregulated.

Parents trust the school as a safe place to get help, he told the event in Dublin.

Eoghan O’Byrne, principal, St Mary’s NS, Limerick, and Nessan Vaughan, chair of SVP’s National Social Justice Committee and of the Vincentian MESL Research Committee, at a Children's Rights Alliance event discussing food poverty and children.

“In one family, the mum passed away with cancer, we provided food support to the grandmother and single dad,” he said. 

In the last two years, they used €10,000 in funding from the Children’s Rights Alliance to provide Christmas vouchers from SuperValu — not valid for alcohol, lottery tickets or tobacco — and a local butcher.

Holiday hunger

Both principals called for more support for summer camps, warning many children face holiday hunger when term-time supports stop.

Ms Tobin, also a member of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation’s central executive committee, said summer funding had dropped significantly.

“This meant we had to prioritise fun events or food, that should never happen. The hot meal scheme should be extended without affecting the grant that you get to do little trips with the children,” she said.

Minister of State for Charities at the Department of Rural and Community Development Joe O’Brien also spoke on the issue of holiday hunger.

He said the department did a survey of youth services currently offering food as part of plans to address this. 

The Children’s Rights Alliance, which hosted this event, is calling for Budget 2025 to be a children's budget.

It is now widely accepted holiday hunger happens, it said, but “it currently receives little to no governmental support”.