Five Service Providers across Tipperary will avail of the new Summer Meals Pilot Programme intended to ensure that children across Ireland receive a good meal daily throughout the school holidays. The programme aids to ensure that children get a hot meal every day during the weeks when schools are closed for the summer.
Under the umbrella of Tipperary Education and Training Board, Youth Work Tipperary will lead the Programme by overseeing hot meals are provided daily at Thurles and Templemore Youth Projects, Tipperary Town Youth Project, North Tipperary Traveller Youth Project, Rural Outreach Project and Fethard & Killenaule Youth Project.
Deputy Michael Lowry says the incentive, launched by Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee, is a bid to tackle holiday hunger across the country.
The Pilot Programme will run in 41 locations nationwide in June, July, and August this year and is part of the Government’s wider plan to end child poverty. The meals will be provided through ‘UBU Your Place Your Space’, a National Scheme that funds youth services for young people aged 10 to 24. These services support young people who may be vulnerable or facing difficult life situations. The scheme includes trialling options on meal delivery such as delivering prepared meals or having meals cooked on site at youth centres.
An independent evaluator, hired by Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), will review how the Pilot Programme scheme works before any decision is made to expand the scheme.
