EXPLAINER | All you need to know about Food Village in Longford who have announced the creation of 200 new jobs

Food Village is a specialised, end-to-end provider of fresh, hot and affordable school  meals, all while eliminating the need for costly kitchen installations or large on-site  teams, substantially cutting utility costs and freeing valuable school space for teaching. 

Its efficient, scalable model for secondary school lunches enables it to feed 500 students  using just three ovens occupying one square metre. This solution delivers  unprecedented efficiency, capable of serving over 1,000 students in just 15 minutes,  providing an estimated two orders-of-magnitude reduction in utility bills for schools. 

With over 200 menu options available, Food Village ensures the best opportunity to meet  dietary requirements and culinary preferences for each secondary school student who  is part of their program. 

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All food services are accessible by students and parents through  their mobile and web app, which leverages the latest technologies at every stage of the  production and distribution stages. 

Food Village implements AI-driven insights and  predictive models that learn from individual and wider user trends to enable their expert  chefs to steer production and predict students’ choices, further reducing food waste in  the supply chain. 

Food Village currently caters directly to schools via freshly prepared, daily deliveries,  currently serving more than 70,000 users across more than 100 schools nationwide.  

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Today, 8% of secondary school meals are partially subsidised by the Department of  Social Protection, as part of the Government’s commitment to eliminating food  insecurity and ensuring that every student, regardless of background, has access to  healthy, hot meals every school day.

Food Village was founded in 2020 with a mission to provide nutritious, hot lunch  options for students in post-primary and tertiary education, regardless of their economic means. 

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• With 70,000 registered users, Food Village currently serves more than 100  schools nationwide. 
• Food Village’s extensive menu of 200+ options is managed on an app, with a  user-friendly ordering system for parents and students to best manage their  dietary and culinary preferences alike. 
• The app, which forms part of an extensive end to end tech system is managed by  a dedicated software team of fifteen, offers parents and students the ability to  manage budget, meal approvals and allergen information. 
• AI-driven insights and predictive models enable Food Village’s expert chefs to  steer production and predict students’ choices. 
• Food Village meals are nut-free, and offer vegan and gluten-free options, and  use 100% eco-friendly packaging. 
• The company is currently growing and aims to have 90,000 registered users by  the end of 2025.