Irish Examiner view: Children need hot meals — and the schools to eat them in

Making hot meals available to all schoolchildren in the State is worthwhile objective, but there is still no timeline as to when 58 school-building projects currently on hold will proceed.

Minister for Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys at St David’s Primary School in Artane, Co Dublin announcing plans for the roll-out of the Hot School Meals Programme. Picture: Maxwells

For many of the older generation, the notion of school dinners was something confined to old British comic books, complete with food fights and surly cooks.

School meals are no laughing matter for many Irish schools in the 21st century, however. With increasing homelessness and housing insecurity, a guaranteed hot meal being served in school can be crucial to a child’s educational success — it improves attendance, concentration levels, and general health.