‘Bia Blasta’ lunch scheme to help 50 childcare services in South Dublin

Fifty childcare services in South Dublin will benefit from the ‘Bia Blasta’ lunch scheme for pre-schools in disadvantaged areas.

On Thursday, August 14, Minister for Children Norma Foley TD announced the €4.2 million programme aimed at making sure those pre-schools can provide daily lunches for the children enrolled.

One million euro of the funding will be made available directly to services participating in the scheme, up to a value of €1,000 per service, to purchase equipment such as a fridge, freezer, dishwasher, hob or oven.

The Bia Blasta programme is the first one to be dedicated to three-hour, free pre-school services, where children would typically bring lunch boxes from home, while legislation establishes that only full-day care services are required to provide meals.

It’s part of the ‘Equal Start’ funding model that provides specific measures for children in disadvantaged areas, and is believed to target 25,000 children, including 15,000 in services that are already receiving Equal Start

support and an additional 10,000 in ECCE services.

The scheme will also ensure the children learn about and enjoy nutritious foods, with the help of a dedicated dietitian to advise and support participating services, explained the Department.

Mealtimes will be provided within a learning framework that builds children’s experiences of nutritious foods, along with the experience of preparing, sharing, and clearing up after meals.

Announcing the programme, Minister Foley said, “There is very strong evidence that giving nutritious lunches to children in disadvantaged areas will combat the risk of hunger as well as improving their attention levels and overall wellbeing.

“My special thanks to all of the dedicated early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners working to deliver this model.”

In Dublin city, services in Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard will benefit from the scheme.

In South Dublin, 50 services have been targeted by the scheme, including those managed by larger organisations such as Tallaght Childcare Centre, An Cosán, Barnardos, JADD, Youth Horizons, StartBright and CoachApproach.

Local services in Ballyboden, Deansrath, Glenview, Kilnamanagh, Ronanstown, and St Dominic’s are also included in the funding.

For more information and the complete list of services, visit the ‘Department of Children’ page at GOV.