Although most schools have started again and the government programme is almost ready to be presented, it is still unclear whether the School Meals Programme will continue after December 2024. Students, parents and teachers are deeply concerned and therefore participated en masse in a drawing campaign initiated by the Jeugdeducatiefonds.
Bitter necessity
“For 350,000 children and their families, meals at school or grocery cards for home are a bitter necessity,” says Hans Spekman, director of the Jeugdeducatiefonds. “They make the difference between an empty lunchbox and a full stomach. On behalf of these students, who have just started their new school year, we call on the government to make funds available for school meals.”
Learning is easier with a full stomach
The School Meals Programme is jointly implemented by the Netherlands Red Cross and the Jeugdeducatiefonds on behalf of the government. More than 2,200 schools provide meals to students or grocery cards to parents. Research shows, among other things, that as a result, students are better able to concentrate in class, eat more fruit and vegetables, and families experience less financial stress.
Time is running out
“There is broad support among schools, society and politicians for retaining the School Meals Programme,” says Spekman. “It was included in the election programmes of several parties, including the VVD, the party of the three ministers responsible for the programme. School meals help increase equal opportunities, reduce child poverty and poverty in general, and promote a healthy lifestyle among children. A win-win situation, in other words. I actually cannot imagine that the government would want to stop this programme, but time is indeed running out.”