Amsterdam students hand out free sandwiches in protest against lunchroom prices

University of Amsterdam (UvA) students are handing out free sandwiches in the Roeterseiland canteen in protest against the high lunchroom prices. The students want the UvA to offer meals at 2 euros for students and staff, with a subsidy if necessary. The lunchroom should not be run for profit, they said to AT5.

The demonstrators, united in the name Antikantine, are handing out sandwiches all week long and getting a lot of support from their fellow students. “The canteen is too expensive for me. I really can’t afford 6 euros for a lunch meal,” one student said to the broadcaster.

Until about 20 years ago, the UvA handled the catering in the lunchroom. The canteen is now run by Cirfood, which hires local entrepreneurs for the canteen.

Lunchroom prices have gradually become unaffordable over the past years, the demonstrators told AT5. “At many universities in the Netherlands and abroad, the food is simply affordable, so that should be possible here,” one of the demonstrators said.

The UvA told the broadcaster that it understands the students’ protest and is talking with them. But food has become more expensive everywhere, the university said. So it taking back control of the catering won’t automatically result in lower prices.