NO child can be allowed to go hungry when changes to free school meals are rolled out, Sinn Féin has said.
Thousands more children will benefit from free meals through a scheme costing more than £40 million a year.
The Department of Education held a public consultation on changes to eligibility criteria, necessary due to the roll out of Universal Credit for those who are on a low income or out of work.
It is being introduced in Northern Ireland on a phased basis.
The department said forecasting suggested this should have an overall effect of increasing the numbers of pupils eligible by around 2,000.
However, about 2,000 current recipients may no longer benefit. This is because those who have net earnings of more than £14,000 lose entitlement.
Sinn Féin said special measures are needed to protect children who may lose out.
In 2015/16, a total of 101,000 pupils were entitled to free school meals (FSM), with the department providing funding of approximately £43.6m.
Sinn Féin education spokeswoman Karen Mullan said FSM is vital for disadvantaged children.
"It would be entirely unacceptable if any child was to go hungry because of a technical change," she said.
"We have had a number of positive engagements with both the department and the Education Authority and I believe there is a genuine will to try and find a solution to this issue. We will continue to work closely with education officials to ensure that suitable mitigations are put in place to protect these entitlements and ensure no child loses out."
The department said the consultation indicated that when a net earnings threshold of £14,000 was applied as the eligibility criterion for households claiming Universal Credit, there should be an overall increase of up to 2,000 pupils eligible.
"The overall increase of 2,000 pupils comprises 4,000 pupils who may now become eligible and 2,000 pupils who may no longer be eligible," a spokeswoman said.
"The income threshold keeps the number of pupils eligible to free school meals and school uniforms as close as possible to the current numbers of eligible pupils."
