Athlone business woman helps promote positivity in classrooms

School meal provider The Lunch Bag has decided to utilise its ever-increasing reach to promote positivity throughout the classrooms of Ireland.

The company's managing director is Athlone woman Geraldine Killian, who is one of the main driving forces behind this positive push. The Lunch Bag is the only school meal provider to supply both DEIS and NON-DEIS schools.

Spanning 20 counties, the service is currently undergoing major expansion with the recent announcement that all school children in Ireland will receive a free hot meal service by 2030.

With this expansion in mind, The Lunch Bag CEO Ray Nangle and MD Ger Killian, recently nominated for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award, wanted to utilise their success for the benefit of 117,000 children that use their service. The duo has recently announced details of their collaboration with Brent Pope, esteemed rugby analyst and founder of “Elephant in the Room.” Mental health activist Brent Pope established Elephant in the Room to raise mental health awareness from the ‘classroom to the boardroom’. The concept, to talk about the ‘elephant in the room’ seeks to encourage people to open-up and talk about their challenges.

“With over 600 schools availing of our service, we are acutely aware of the scope we have to create positive messaging in the classroom,” stated CEO Ray Nangle.

“We want to provide a service that not just serves children physically, but mentally as well, and Elephant in the Room was the perfect fit.” The collaboration was announced at the launch of an 'Elephant in the Room' auction which took place recently at the CHQ Building on Dublin’s Custom House Quay.

Brent said: “With The Lunch Bag, our collaborative goal is to promote the building blocks of good communication and friendship from early childhood, so the next generation have the basic tools they need, to not only express themselves safely, but provide a safe space for another to confide.”

The new school term will see The Lunch Bag’s compostable packaging filled with child friendly guidance on how to be a good friend and an active listener, with various supports for school staff. The idea is to highlight fun commonalities with how elephants build their herd and communicate without language and aims to encourage positive conversations around mental wellness. The collaboration will see a reach of over one million children a month across 600 schools with plans to expand the scope of the partnership throughout the year.