Dutch nutrition center scaling back healthy school canteen project due to budget cuts
The Dutch Nutrition Center (Voedingscentrum) is scaling back its nationwide healthy school canteen project due to millions in government budget cuts. Starting next school year, schools will no longer receive onsite expert guidance and will instead rely on a general online information package, according to Trouw.
The project, aimed at promoting healthier eating habits among youth by advising schools on offering more fruit, whole-grain bread, and vegetables, has signed up 1,260 secondary and vocational schools. These schools will now need to figure out on their own how to encourage students who do not bring their own lunch to choose healthier options.
The reduction in support is part of broader spending cuts announced by the Schoof cabinet last fall. Various health organizations focused on prevention face a total reduction of 250 million euros. The Nutrition Center’s budget will be cut by more than 3 million euros in 2026—a decrease of about 25 percent.
The Nutrition Center has not yet said whether jobs will be lost as a result of the cuts. Spokesperson Anne Lutgerink said the organization cannot offset the losses with private funding in order to maintain its independence.
Lutgerink called it “bitter” that schools will lose direct, onsite assistance. “A visit and talks with staff and students help tailor the canteen to meet specific needs,” she told Trouw. Each school differs in layout, catering contracts, and willingness to change. “Sometimes students want to be involved in deciding on healthy options that appeal to them.”
About 70 percent of secondary schools aim to improve their canteens or are already taking steps to do so, according to the Nutrition Center. The remaining 30 percent either focus on other aspects of student well-being, are satisfied with their current offerings, or lack the resources to make changes.
Online tools such as manuals and digital training will remain available, though Lutgerink expressed uncertainty about their impact. “How schools use these resources remains to be seen.” In a 2014 report on the Nutrition Center’s work, the canteen project was described as a flagship initiative. “Most schools need individual onsite advice in the canteen,” she told Trouw.
Tailored support has reportedly proven effective over the years in encouraging fruit consumption and discouraging soft drinks in school cafeterias. The program’s goal is to center school food offerings around the Dutch Schijf van Vijf, or “Wheel of Five” — the official national dietary guideline that emphasizes eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, plant-based proteins, and healthy fats.
The Nutrition Center also warns that stores near schools actively promote unhealthy snacks, energy drinks, and candy to students during breaks. “It’s not only vital that schools offer healthier options but that the whole environment around youth improves,” Lutgerink told Trouw. “You don’t want students buying unhealthy snacks from supermarkets instead.”
