Set National Quality, Traceability and Country-of-Origin Standards for Ireland’s Hot School Meals Scheme

Public money spent on feeding Ireland’s children should be subject to clear, consistent and verifiable standards. Evidence given to an Oireachtas committee in January 2026 stated that, for some children, the Hot School Meals Programme provides the only hot meal they receive that day. Barnardos has similarly told the Committee that without the programme, not all of the children it supports would receive a hot meal.

FarmLoop’s proposal, developed by Jack Brennan, founder of FarmLoop, would make Bord Bia Quality Assurance the national benchmark for meat and poultry supplied through the Hot School Meals Programme. It would require stronger traceability, clear country-of-origin information for parents, and evidence that meat sourced outside Ireland meets substantive standards equivalent to the Bord Bia benchmark.

Ireland has established farming, food-production and quality-assurance systems. The proposal would place those standards more centrally within the programme, strengthen demand for quality-assured Irish food, and give parents clearer information about the origin and assurance status of meat being served to their children.