School Meals Scheme

The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services for disadvantaged school children.

More information on the Programme is available in the below links:

• School Meals Scheme
• Minister Humphreys announces 900 additional Primary Schools approved for Hot School Meals
• List of Schools approved for the Hot School Meals Programme from April 2024

To calculate the estimated value of the contract, you can use the Excel file below – add the number of students and amend the number of days, if necessary:

School Meals Calculator

To procure a service provider for the provision of Hot Meals, the steps below must be followed:

1. When the total contract value is less than €50,000 or above €750,000 for a 3-year term, the school can contact the SPU for further guidance.
2. When the total contract value exceeds €50,000 for a 3-year term, a tender process is required. To publish a tender, the school will need to:
3. 1. Have an eTenders account:
      • If you have previously used eTenders’ old platform, but not the new one, please check the first-time login guide to the new platform here.
      • If you are unsure your school has an eTenders account, you can email irish-eproc-helpdesk@eurodyn.com with your school’s details and they will assist you in retrieving your login credentials or setting up a new school’s account.
      • Besides the main school account, one other staff/BOM member must be named as an evaluator, as two people are needed to publish a tender.
   2. Amend the documents below according to the school’s needs:
      • Call For Tender (CFT)
      • Tender Response Document (TRD)
      • Service Level Agreement (SLA)
      • Draft Contract
   3. Publish a Call For Tender (CFT) on eTenders. Guidance is available below:
      • Introduction to eTenders Guide
        • Guidance Videos
      • A specific guide was designed to assist schools with the publication of school meals scheme tenders:
        • Create & Publish a CFT Guide
      • A procurement checklist was also developed to guide schools through their procurement processes:
        • Procurement Checklist
   4. Guidance on evaluation will follow shortly.
      

      Guidance on the tender process, including the evaluation of tenders received, is available on request.