School meals: 'Watching my pupils go hungry is heartbreaking'

Katrina Moore is headteacher of Malone Integrated College

Children from low-income working families who do not qualify for free school meals are going to class hungry, a Belfast head teacher has said.

Katrina Moore, principal of Malone Integrated College, said that to watch a child go hungry was heartbreaking.

The secondary school in Finaghy has about 800 pupils, just over half of whom are entitled to free school meals.

As a temporary measure to address hunger, Ms Moore is using grant money to provide free food to all her pupils.

The principal told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme she was "very conscious of those young people who I know are probably not going to get a hot meal at any time during the day whether it be breakfast dinner or an evening meal".

"So for us to be able to provide a hot meal for these young people and their families, to improve their education chances, it's a no brainer," she added.

In December 2022, Malone Integrated College used grants from the James Kane Foundation to provide breakfasts for hungry pupils on a temporary basis.

The charity was set up by the late aerospace entrepreneur Jim Kane from Portadown, County Armagh, who bequeathed his fortune to "advance education for the public benefit" in Northern Ireland.

Malone Integrated College recently went back to the charity for more help, and currently the school is offering free meals to every pupil until the mid-term break in February.

But beyond that date, the college does not have the funds to continue the service.

"I don't know what's going to happen", Ms Moore said.

"I just don't want any child to go hungry, it's just not fair, it's not right.

"I'm going to make a point of going out and badgering and harassing people as only I can to try and get this to increase to keep it going into the future."

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Ms Moore joins a growing list of headteachers who have spoken out about how school budgets are disadvantaging pupils from low income households.

Last month, the principal of Brownlow Integrated College in Craigavon, County Armagh told BBC News NI a pupil had fainted due to hunger and families were "struggling to afford the basics".

Northern Ireland is also the only part of the UK where there is no support available to feed schoolchildren during the school holidays.

In March 2023, the school holiday food grant was scrapped by the Department of Education.

The fortnightly payment of £27 per child was to help the families of nearly 100,000 pupils entitled to free school meals during term time.

At the time the department said it was ending the scheme "with great reluctance" but no longer had enough money to fund it.