The number of local students with access to the Hot School Meals programme has quadrupled over the last two years.
Figures released by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, show close to 4,100 students in Longford, Leitrim and Westmeath benefiting from the initiative.
The Hot School Meals programme provides regular, nutritious food to children to support them during their school day.
Close to 95 million euro was allocated to the plan in Budget 2023, with a further 14.5 million euro approved to allow access for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023.
881 students were getting the free meals each day in 2018, with that number jumping to 4,090 as of the 2022/23 school year.
Longford has the highest proportion of students on the plan in the region, with 1,969 children signed up for the meals.
That's followed by Roscommon and Leitrim, where 1,142 and 979 students respectively were sitting down to the meals during the school day.
Nationally, over 94,400 students used the programme during the most recent academic year.
