Harm Goossens, director of the Netherlands Red Cross: “Thanks to the School Meals Programme, children go to school with a full stomach. That is important for being able to learn well. Parents also benefit from it. One father said that this school year he takes his children to school with peace of mind, knowing that their lunchboxes are now full.”
Learning about money
Through the School Meals Programme, which is funded by the government, pupils who need it most receive food assistance at their primary or secondary school.
Schools can choose between two options: parents receive a grocery card through the Red Cross, or pupils receive meals at school through the Youth Education Fund. In total, more than 55,000 children have already been helped with the grocery card. Around 2,400 schools currently participate in the programme.
One fifth of the parents see an improvement in their children’s concentration. More than a quarter of the parents (28%) also use the grocery card as a way to teach their children about money and budgeting. “The grocery card not only helps me enormously to give my children a healthy meal, but it also teaches them about the value of money,” one parent said.
Less financial stress
The research shows that 60% of parents experience less financial stress. One parent said: “Sometimes I have almost run out of my own money, but thanks to the grocery card I am happy that I can still buy fruit, cheese, bread and sandwich fillings for my child.”
For another parent, the grocery card provides a sense of security; she is no longer afraid that her child will have no food. Yet the grocery card proves insufficient for 27% of parents. Food remains an expense they have to cut last.
Parents say that they still buy cheaper food, eat smaller portions or even skip meals. They are also unable to pay bills, or can only pay them later, and feel compelled to borrow money from family, friends or others. This increases the risk of debt problems and shows that they face broader and more structural problems than simply being unable to pay for school meals.
Poverty in the Netherlands is deepening. The Red Cross sees that people living below the poverty line, or just above it, are increasingly facing deteriorating circumstances. For example, people are experiencing more financial problems. Food assistance provides some relief, but it is not a long-term solution.
“At the 2023 House of Representatives elections, financial security was one of the biggest themes. We hear much less about it now, but the problems are still there. I therefore urge political parties to keep placing poverty reduction high on their list of priorities and to address the deepening of poverty,” Goossens said.