Me, I am familiar with 1960s “school milk”, but school meals? Nope.
The Dutch are introducing them now, free meals, but unlike in the UK, the government leaves it up to the schools how they use the budget.
Schools with 30% or more pupils from low-income families can now apply for free meals.
The Dutch government has allocated 100 million euros for 300,000 children in primary and secondary education.
“Op is op”, for the schools. First come, first served.
They can then for example, for 9 euros per child:
- Offer breakfast or lunch
- Fill a fridge with healthy food.
- Hire a catering firm
They can also opt for only supporting the poorest families by offering them Red Cross vouchers of 11 euro per child, which can be spent at any supermarket.
Red Cross and Youth Education Foundation school liaison officers are supporting the schools, so that organizing the food won’t burden teachers too much.
Angelina Souren : 🇳🇱 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Critical thinker / rights advocate and scientific researcher. 