Three more primary schools to get hot meals this year

Sunday 09 April 2023

Three more primary schools are set to offer hot meals by September this year - ahead of them becoming available across all of the island's primaries by 2024.

Assistant Education Minister Richard Vibert announced that Springfield, Grands Vaux and Plat Douet will join five other schools – Janvrin, Samarès, St. Luke’s, St. Martin’s and St. Peter’s – where meals are already available as part of a pilot between the government and local charity Caring Cooks.

At these schools, parents pay £2.50 for their child to receive a hot nutritious main meal and a dessert.

Constable Vibert said: "As a ministerial team, we have always been very open about the challenge that we face in making sure that all primary school children can access a hot school meal.

"To achieve this ambition, we will need to increase the number of meals we produce tenfold.

"We’ll need to recruit and train more staff. We also need to make sure each school has the facilities it needs."

Pictured: Assistant Education Minister Constable Richard Vibert.

He added: "We know that more and more families are struggling to provide healthy lunchbox meals on a regular basis.

"We also know that children benefit throughout their life when they have regular access to nutritious food: they’re better able to learn and develop and are more likely to have better health throughout their life."

Funding of £1.6 million to expand the scheme was ringfenced in the most recent Government Plan, with Education Minister Inna Gardiner saying previously that the government was aiming to provide 4,000 hot school meals a day by 2024.

The government said that the programme has been designed to support parents who may struggle to provide packed lunches that meet nutritional guidelines; to support children’s health and wellbeing; and to reduce their risk of obesity.

Yvonne Corbin, of Caring Cooks, commented: "We have worked closely with the Government of Jersey since the pilot was launched in 2019 to provide more healthy food options to more children.

"As a charity, we’re so proud of the impact that we have already made, and the positive feedback we’ve had from families.

"We look forward to working together in the future to provide this much-needed service."