The school my six-year-old daughter attends is one of the last in the country to avail of the School Meals Scheme. While I grumble through the sandwich-making routine each morning, I’ve watched from the sidelines as the scheme has unfolded. It is not without its flaws and the Government’s report on the scheme, the second of which was released last week, suggests a rethink is necessary.

But before we get into the nuts and bolts of it, let me tell you about a boy called Johnny*. My friend is a primary school teacher and Johnny was a pupil of hers. His lunch every day was a small box of Pringles. That’s it – no sandwich, no banana, no breakfast in the morning before he headed off for school. She had tears as she told me about him ravaging all his Pringles at small break.

There are hundreds, probably thousands of kids like Johnny, and every single child deserves a hot meal – for some, it’s their only meal that day. For children like Johnny, this scheme hasn’t let him down, and we can’t take away from the significance of that.

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But Johnny deserves the very best nutrition in his school meal. Is he getting it? Many will argue not. The report last week shows only 7% of meals meet all five basic nutrition standards and 14% of meals meet the standard of two servings of veg or fruit. 15% of the meals are said to contain high fat, salt and sugar items, despite the Government announcing in April 2025 that these were banned.

So what is the solution? Food Policy Ireland, an advocacy group whose members include Ruth Hegarty, Dr Michelle Darmody, Professor Norah Campbell and Evonne Boland argue the model needs to be revised. For context, the current process is that parents select the meals that they would like their children to eat on an app. The predominant model by the main suppliers is meals are then made and assembled into individual packaging. The production-model type approach means meals are transported – sometimes across numerous county borders – where they are stored overnight and reheated in ovens. These individual meals are served in the classroom and sometimes children eat the same food day after day.

The report last week shows only 7% of meals meet all five basic nutrition standards and 14% of meals meet the standard of two servings of veg or fruit. 15% of the meals are said to contain high fat, salt and sugar items, despite the Government announcing in April 2025 that these were banned

Is there a better way? The food advocacy group believes a community-led, ‘whole school approach’ isn’t just blue-sky thinking, it’s common-sense. The idea is a limited menu that rotates each day, made in a nearby community kitchen using locally sourced ingredients. While not all schools have canteens, it’s about looking at what can work, like a school hall. For want of a better description, if you’ve been to a funeral in the local community hall where you’ve queued up for hot food, that is the idea.

It gets rid of singular packaged meals and embraces a communal eating concept – something that young children are often already exposed to if they’ve attended crèche. This model works successfully in other countries, including the UK. Not only does it limit food miles and waste, it also means that children palates develop more.

At its core, the concept of the School Meals Scheme – providing a meal to every child in school – is significant. But we need a rethink and there’s an argument that community and local providers should be at its core.