IF YOU’RE STILL packing a lunchbox for your child as they head back to school this week, despite the presence of the Hot School Meals Programme in your classroom, you’re far from alone. While it’s tempting to assume the government-funded initiative has magically removed the need for parents to send in snacks and full lunches for their children regularly, the evidence from parents on the ground is that it has not.

Earlier this year, a national survey of more than 8,000 parents, teachers and suppliers of the scheme found that 80% of parents send in another lunch for their children. Founder of the Cool Food School Deirdre Doyle, who teaches children about healthy eating, recently put out a call on social media asking if parents were still interested in lunchbox ideas, given the scheme. The response was overwhelming.

“I was quite surprised, as I thought most kids were getting the hot school meals, so there was no longer a need for home packed lunches,” she says. “But it was interesting to read from some parents that they need to supplement the lunches as they’re not big enough or their kids don’t like them. Some parents have opted out as their kids are not enjoying them or the quality is not great. And some schools still don’t have hot school meals,” she explains.

“Many parents were also looking for ideas for what to provide their children for ‘little break’ as that is typically not covered by the hot meals scheme. I hadn’t considered that,” she adds.

While the hot lunch scheme has broadly been accepted as a positive step in the right direction, and for some children it may mean having access to a hot, nutritious meal they might not otherwise have had, the feedback from many parents is that it’s patchy.

While open to every primary school in the country, not all have signed up to the programme, citing issues around basic logistics or access, waste or lack of demand for the current offering. Many who do have it in their school raise issues around the quality of the meals. According to the recent........

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