No money for free meal at school in new coalition agreement

The new right-wing coalition did not make any agreements about continuing to fund the free meal at school program. Without extra money, the last school meal will be served before the Christmas holidays, schools, the Red Cross, and the Youth Education Fund warned in a letter to parliament, AD reports.

Since early 2023, schools in neighborhoods where at least 30 percent of pupils come from low-income families have distributed free meals or grocery cards. Over 2,100 primary and secondary schools participate in the program, offering a daily meal or a weekly grocery card to around 350,000 children. The program costs between 100 and 130 million euros per year.

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, previously supported a D66 and Volt proposal to make the program permanent. The new coalition parties supported that proposal but did not make provision for it in their main lines agreement.

It would have been “very nice” if the coalition had made money available to continue school meals, Hans Spekman of the Youth Education Fund told AD. “Precisely because so many schools are connected, and the need is so great.” Schools are already working on plans for next year. “They need certainty and clarity.”

The coalition parties told the newspaper that the free meals at school program wasn’t deliberately left out of the main lines agreement, it was “simply not discussed.” A VVD spokesperson called that “unsurprising” because it is a main lines agreement. The NSC called it “a free issue” for the Tweede Kamer to decide on. BBB parliamentarian Claudia van Zanten said it would be “up to the next Minster” to work out this program, and she “cannot yet say” whether there will be money for it.

D66 and Volt don’t want to wait for the next government to put it on their agenda. During Tuesday’s debate on the Spring Memorandum - one of the annual updates to the national budget - they will submit a proposal to make 166 million euros available for the program next year. “As far as we are concerned, this is part of education,” D66 parliamentarian Ilana Rooderkerk said. “Meals are also important for social security.”

According to AD, an evaluation by the Ministry of Education early this year showed that schools, parents, and children are all enthusiastic about the free meals at school program. Teachers reported fewer hungry children in the classroom, meaning they could concentrate better on their schoolwork. Parents who receive a grocery card of 11 euros per week reported experiencing less stress, lifting the mood in their households.