A company that provides hot school meals for primary school children is to hire hundreds of new staff as the State scheme continues to grow.

The school hot meals scheme began as a pilot involving 30 schools in 2019 and has since grown to include 1,600 schools, catering to up to 260,000 children.

The scheme was handed €94.4 million in funding in Budget 2023 and that was topped up by a further €14.5 million this year to ensure all DEIS schools in the country would have access to the scheme by September.

The Government added another 900 non-DEIS schools to the scheme in Budget 2024 – and Social Protection Minister Heather Humphries has said she wants the scheme to be open to all primary school children within four years.

This morning, one of the main suppliers of the hot meals announced a €7.5 million expansion that will see it capable of providing 100,000 per day.

Politicians and staff at the announcement of The Lunch Bag expansion. Image: Odhran Ducie

The Lunch Bag said it plans to triple in size, hiring 240 full-time roles at its headquarters in Nenagh, Tipperary and 450 part-time roles around the country.

It means the company, which was founded in 2019, will expand its workforce from 200 to 900 before the end of May.

The company is also this month beginning work on a 50,000 sq ft extension to its production facility to accommodate additional production lines.

Exciting

“This is an incredibly exciting time for our business,” said CEO Ray Nangle. “We’re immensely proud of the fact that in 2019 we set out to ensure every child in Ireland had access to a school meal service and we have seen that come to fruition in under five years.

“The impact on childhood nutrition will be monumental, as we ensure a minimum of 65,000 children every day will have hot, healthy and tasty meals delivered to their desks. To also be able to bring 900 jobs in total to this new industry is an achievement in and of itself.”

The company’s MD Ger Killian said the expansion is “hugely significant”.

“The biggest impact will be that of a free hot meal to all primary school children,” she said.

“Hot school meals are proven to improve attendance, attention and achievement rates within schools and that’s the feedback we’re getting from schools.”

Jobs

The 240 roles in Nenagh will mostly be general operators; however, the company is also looking to hire HR, admin, warehouse and logistics staff, alongside van drivers.

Meanwhile, the company said the 450 part-time roles will operate within school hours, making them perfect for people with childcare needs.

Anyone interested in joining the team is invited to apply at hr@thelunchbag.ie.

Main image shows The Lunch Bag CEO Ray Nangle and MD Ger Killian. Image: Odhran Ducie