‘It's heartbreaking': Cork school principal's frustration over hot school meal rules

The principal of a Cork special school has said it is “heartbreaking” that new rules around procurement and health and safety mean his students will no longer have a hot lunch every day.

Under the school meals scheme, funded by the Department of Social Protection, all primary schools are eligible to receive hot meals for their students. However, some schools cannot avail of the programme because of new procurement issues.

Under new regulations, school employees can no longer handle meals, and those meals need to be prepared in a room that meets health and safety standards.

St Gabriel’s Special School in Bishopstown has 54 students, mostly aged four to 18 and who have severe intellectual disabilities, autism, and complex needs.

Principal David Thomas told The Echo that the school has been informed by its supplier, Nenagh-based firm Fresh Today, that the new rules mean that it is no longer feasible to supply the school. 

Heartbreaking

“It’s heartbreaking that the new prohibitions that have been put in place are preventing services from being provided to small schools,” said Mr Thomas.

“I have parents asking me if there is going to be another service provider who will take their place, and there is no way that I can answer that at this time because of the prohibitive measures that are in place and the pressures that special school principals are already under.”

Mr Thomas said Fresh Today was one of the best food providers in the country: “It has one of the best reputations for providing some of the healthiest foods around the country.”

“There is no way that we could reasonably try to find an equal provider who could supply a similar service for a small school.”

Mr Thomas said he felt the ramifications of the new regulations had not been thought through.

“There are 54 children in our school who have relied on this extremely dependable service for the last number of years, whether it was hot food or cold food, and now that’s gone,” he said.

“This isn’t good enough for our children.”

Absolutely gutted

Tony Mulcahy, a director of Fresh Today, said he was “absolutely gutted” that he could no longer supply a service to St Gabriel’s.

He said his company had been told that, under the new directives, it could not use a school employee to heat meals but would instead have to hire an employee.

“That wouldn’t be feasible in a small school like St Gabriel’s,” Mr Mulcahy said.

“They want an independent waste provider to collect the waste every day, now that’s not going to happen, and that’s only one of the 47 pages of rules.

“Say if the caretaker had been bringing in the boxes before, now they can’t do that, because that would make the school the food provider. Then we’re supposed to have a separate room for food, and rooms in most schools are fairly valuable.

“You’d have to have an architect to sign off on the room, as well as the Health and Safety Authority, a fire cert, and a whole raft of other things. Realistically, we couldn’t deal with that in a small school.”

He added that as the father of a 33-year-old daughter, Coleen, who has special needs, he was “really upset” that he could no longer supply meals to St Gabriel’s.

“That is a fantastic school, with really lovely, kind, decent people; I know the kids in there, it’s a great place,” he said.

Challenges

A spokesperson for the Department of Social Protection said: “While it is recognised that delivering meals to smaller or more remote schools may present challenges, the shared priority of all partners in the programme must be that every child benefits from a service where the primary consideration is that the food they eat is safe, nutritious, and supportive of their learning.”