New coalition parties vote against plan to save free school meals

The proposal to continue a program to distribute free school meals in 2025 did not garner enough support in a vote on Tuesday in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament. The incoming coalition parties, PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB, joined other factions in shooting down the proposal.

The initiative was brought forward by D66, which is part of the current caretaker Cabinet, and opposition parties GroenLinks-PvdA, Volt, Denk and SP. They thought it was a shame that the coalition agreement has not reserved finances for this, and they hoped - in vain - to rectify this with their motion.

Schools started distributing meals for free about two years ago at the request of the Tweede Kamer. A majority in Parliament hoped that this would mean that children would no longer have to sit in class hungry.

The parties that submitted the motion point to the positive evaluation of this temporary arrangement since it was launched. Children have more energy and concentration, a more diverse diet, a healthier diet, and experience lower levels of stress.

That is why they hoped to turn this into a permanent arrangement with a structured annual budget. This should then have been announced in the government program, the more detailed elaboration of the outline coalition agreement, when the new Cabinet takes office.

Eddy van Hijum from NSC was critical of this during a debate last week. He believed that the new Cabinet should be given the space to make their own plans. This comment came after a "broader discussion" about poverty among children.