Strict standards for introduction of hot meals at Offaly School
The successful tenderer is to monitor the quality of food, presentation and service
The provision of hot meals are to be facilitated at Ballinamere National School outside Tullamore.
The school is currently seeking bidders for the provision of the service for its 196 students over each day of the school year. The contract is for the duration of three years. The validity of the tender is 12 months and the estimated value is €342,000 excluding VAT.
According to eTenders, the successful tenderer must be able to provide clearly visible menu boards with a list of allergens. Salt should not be available on tables. Pre-bottled water, either mineral or spring water will not be allowed, instead tap water is to be visible, freely available and should be promoted. The Principal will reserve the right to refuse a menu if it does not comply with the school's Healthy Eating Policy. This includes any proposed price changes.
Menus for the calendar week must be available and displayed on the Monday of the same week to encourage uptake. All menus will clearly show the calorie count associated with the individual or combined item where two or more items constitute an item. Consideration should be given for students with special dietary needs such as gluten free and vegetarian. The menu is to accommodate those with food intolerances and allergies, from lactose free, to vegetarian to gluten free for example.
The successful tenderer is to monitor the quality of food, presentation and service. They must be able to identify the businesses from whom they have obtained food, ingredients or food producing animals. They must also encourage people to understand and value the food that is supplied and served.
Deadline for receipt of tenders is November 28. The contract is dependent on the level of DSP (designated specialist provision) funding approved in 2024/2025.
Data published in June of this year from the Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) showed that while prevalence has not increased and most children in Ireland have a healthy weight (73%), a significant percentage (17.7%) live with overweight and obesity.
The research, commissioned by the HSE, also finds a greater prevalence in schools that participate in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme (25.4%) versus schools that do not (16.1%).
The latest survey findings show:
In an average classroom of 30 children, six will have overweight or obesity
In DEIS schools one in every four children have overweight or obesity
Less than one in every ten primary school children are underweight, and no differences in the proportion of children were seen across areas of disadvantage,
No differences, in all categories, were seen between urban and rural areas.
The majority of schools have a curriculum, environment and activities that are known to promote positive health outcomes
Few schools have fresh fruit or vegetables (free or paid for) available to children during the school day.
Professor Cecily Kelleher, UCD College Principal, College of Agriculture and Health, University College Dublin, who leads the team of researchers working on the Irish arm of COSI at the National Nutrition Surveillance Centre said:
“The health of our children, largely predicts the health of our future adult population. We know that childhood obesity is largely preventable through effective policies that can intervene early to create environments and behaviours that support healthy growth and development for all children. Robust population surveillance efforts like COSI are a valuable means of accessing our progress and the impact of these interventions over time,'' she said.