Who benefits from the ECE Food Programme. NEWS/ANALYSIS. Part 2 of our series on the ECE Food Programme. June 24, 2025. After Associate Education Minister David Seymour in May 2024 announced the expansion of the free lunch programme to early childhood education (ECE) services, he repeatedly said only “low-equity, community-based” (not-for-profit) centres would be eligible. … Continue reading One in five ECE centres getting free lunches are privately owned, despite the Minister repeatedly saying only community-based services would qualify