The School Meals Scheme, funded by the Department of Social Protection (DSP), provides financial support to schools for providing nutritious food to students. Read more:
HOT MEALS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS ONLYFor procurement guidance regarding the provision of Hot Meals to Primary Schools click here. |
SCHOOL MEALS SCHEME
Schools should follow the steps below to identify the procurement process required for the provision of school meals to their students.
1. Identify your schools preferred meals delivery mechanism
Meals prepared off-site and delivered ready to eat
Meals pre-prepared off-site and heated in the school’s designated preparation and/or servery area
Meals pre-prepared off-site and heated in the school by use of an external pod or mobile catering unit
Meals fully prepared on-site
2. Contact your insurance provider
Once you have identified the most suitable meals delivery mechanism for your school, you should contact your school insurance provider to discuss your preferred option and to ensure there are no insurance implications.
3. Estimate the contract value
3.1 The first step is to calculate the estimated value of the contract to a maximum 3-year term. For this purpose, you can use the Excel file below:
School Meals Calculator Select the meal-type(s) as approved by the DSP, insert the number of students and select the number of school days accordingly. |
3.2 Where the estimated contract value to a maximum 3-year term is:
Less than €50,000 – a minimum of 3 written proposals must be sought.
Between €50,000 and €750,000 – a tender must be published on the eTenders platform.
More than €750,000 – a tender must be published on the eTenders platform & The OJEU.
4. Register on eTenders platform (for contract value more than €50,000)
Please note that the school must have an eTenders account to be able to publish a tender on eTenders platform. See how to register or retrieve an account here.
For procurement guidance regarding the provision of Hot Meals to Primary Schools click here.