REHEATED FOOD IN a box, eaten in a hurry at the desk, is now the reality for thousands of children around the country. 

We know that one-in-five children in Ireland are in families living below the poverty line. We know that it is of vital importance that they, and their classmates, receive nutritious meals to help them learn and grow while at school. Of course, giving every child a tasty, nutritious lunch at school naturally seemed like a good idea when Fine Gael first introduced it in 2019.

But what if we went about it in entirely the wrong way? What may have started out as a well-intentioned policy now seems to have become something far less appealing – a system criticised for poor quality, limited choice and significant waste.

A recent national survey of more than 8,000 parents, teachers and suppliers of the Hot School Meals scheme, confirms widespread dissatisfaction with what is on offer – in terms of nutritional quality, choice and the huge amount of waste generated.

The Government is proposing a rejigging of the scheme to fix the problems before it is extended into secondary schools.

Is there a better way?

With all the issues around this scheme, perhaps we should be asking: should it just be abandoned and replaced with a better model?

There are alternatives to providing reheated food in plastic or tinfoil to school children. There are radically different models that factor in food, the social experience of dining together and target not just school children but whole communities.

When a plan is not working, a viable alternative is needed. There is another option – that provides food for the body, mind, heart and soul. The model encompasses state- supported community dining with a mandate for procurement from local producers.

In 2005, in the UK at the age of 25, food entrepreneur Carly........

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