Barnardos will tell an Oireachtas committee that not all of the over 35,000 children it supports would receive a hot meal without The Hot School Meal programme.
This morning's Committee on Education and Youth will evaluate the impacts of the Hot School Meals Programme.
The Government programme sees hot meals provided to schools, but concerns have been raised over its procurement, food quality and packaging waste.
The programme has been available to all primary schools since September last year, with around 3,700 schools and organisations - and 682,000 children - eligible to access the scheme.
Barnardos will say a report it published in July found that 40% of parents skipped meals or reduced portion size so their children would have enough to eat.
Additionally, its surveys and interviews with parents found 28% felt at some point they did not have enough food to feed their children, with 19% of parents and their children having to cut back or go without food over the previous six months.
Its national policy manager, Stephen Moffatt will say that hot meals significantly improve the nutrition of many children in a "way that is not stigmatising".
Parents 'overwhelmingly happy with the hot school meals'
She will say the parents Barnardos supports are "overwhelmingly happy with the hot school meals provided to their children and repeatedly state they and their children experience significant benefits as a result of their introduction".
It will hear that the financial benefit for these families is "not insignificant".
"That saving can be spent on other essentials the family would otherwise go without or have to cut back on," Mr Moffat will say.
Barnardos will also call for the programme to be extended to secondary schools.
"The benefits for children and parents don’t stop once a child leaves primary school, nor too does child food insecurity," Mr Moffat will say.
Meanwhile, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) is expected to tell this morning’s committee that "food remains the biggest driver of need".
Its Head of Social Justice and Policy, Louise Bayliss will say SVP received 112,772 requests for food assistance in 2025, with food requests exceeding 10,000 per month, for four months of last year.
Ms Bayliss will say it is important to understand the level of food poverty when discussing the impact of the Hot School Meals Programme.
She will say the 5,321 children living in emergency accommodation do not have access to nutritious meals.
However, Ms Bayliss will say SVP understands concerns around the implementation of the scheme and called for a "robust" evaluation and implementation of any recommendations.
The National Parents Council (NPC) will say it conducted two national surveys to gather feedback from families on the scheme - one for parents and one for children.
The surveys were open from 13 January to 14 January and received 3,411 responses in total: 2,465 from parents and 946 from children.
Its survey found 87% of parents surveyed said there is a hot meal service in their child’s school, 49% of parents rated their overall satisfaction with the service at 7-10 on a 10-point scale.
'Significant concerns'
However, the NPC’s CEO Áine Lynch will say parents and children also raised "significant concerns" about the current implementation.
Parents reported that meals are frequently delivered hours before lunchtime, which then results in cold or soggy food, Ms Lynch will tell the committee.
The committee will also hear that surveyed children expressed a desire for "simpler, fresher options", including sandwiches and wraps.
"Families support the idea of school meals but believe the scheme needs major improvements," Ms Lynch will say.
"They want a programme that prioritises healthy, fresh, and appealing food, reduces waste, and involves parents and children in menu planning. Clear communication, flexibility for dietary needs, and age-appropriate portions are essential."
Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins has called for an overhaul of the Hot Meals Programme, pointing to examples in other countries.
"Everyone accepts that children cannot reach their educational potential if they are hungry, but feeding children properly means more than simply delivering calories," she said.
"We need assurance that the food being provided is genuinely nutritious, sustainably produced and, where possible, locally sourced."
Ms Cummins said she has real concerns "about the quality and consistency of meals coming from large-scale private providers".
"Schools should be supported to prepare food on-site or source it locally wherever feasible. Nutrition underpins lifelong health, and if we fail to get this right now, we are storing up serious public health and social problems for the future."
