Alan Pettigrew says 'there’s a good bit of choice' for children in the School Meals Scheme. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni
Alan Pettigrew is generally impressed by the daily lunch options on offer to his son as part of the School Meals Scheme at St Patrick’s National School in Drumcondra, Dublin.
His son has been enjoying curry noodles and a healthier version of a spice bag. He likes pasta too, which the provider has started serving with tomato sauce.
“They don’t look like some of the ones that I’ve seen in the media over the last couple of days,” his wife, Clare Pettigrew, adds. “They’re tasty. They look nice. You’d eat them yourself.”
The School Meals Scheme, which is funded by the Department of Social Protection, is now available to about 3,700 schools and 682,000 children.
Last month celebrity chef Darina Allen, who founded Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co Cork, told an Oireachtas committee that the programme must do “much better” when it comes to nutrition.
She said there were “very few” meal providers who “cook fresh, locally sourced food from scratch”.
[ ‘I wouldn’t eat them myself’:
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.