In the first reading, the Riigikogu rejected the draft law of the Center Party faction to raise the minimum level of state support for school lunches per student from 1 euro to 2 euros per day.
“It is unfortunate that the representatives of the Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and Estonia 200 are indifferent to ensuring a high-quality school lunch. The priorities of today’s government have been tax increases, but the healthy and rich nutrition of children has, unfortunately, been left behind,” said the deputy chairman of the Center Party faction, which defended the bill at the plenary session. Vadim Belobrovtsev. “A young person’s body needs high-quality, diverse and nutritious food. The hot lunch offered at school is a very important meal for students, for some school children it is the only hot meal during the day. In the conditions of high inflation and tax increases introduced by the Reform Party government, it is not possible to maintain the current quality of school meals for the previous amounts. In order for school lunches to continue to be free, healthy and tasty for students, the minimum amount of support must be increased.”
According to the current system, the state spends 1 euro per day for one child’s school lunch, to which is added the contribution of the municipality and, in some cases, the parents. The last increase in the state subsidy for school meals took place in 2018 during the Jüri Ratas government, when the subsidy was increased from 0.78 to 1 euro. Vadim Belobrovtsev added that the current situation has forced municipalities to increase their financial contribution and ask parents for additional support – for example, the city of Tartu uses this opportunity.
“Municipal governments have increased the support for school lunches more often than the state, but it is irresponsible to put the responsibility of maintaining the quality of school meals on cities and municipalities,” criticizes Belobrovtsev, a member of the board of the Center Party. “We also come to the aid of companies that provide meals in schools, which are finding it increasingly difficult to fulfill the contracts concluded through public procurement, which oblige them to provide students with wholesome, balanced, versatile, tasty, age-appropriate food that, if necessary, takes into account special needs and allergies.”
According to the Estonian Economic Institute, the cost of the average food basket has risen by more than 20 percent in annual comparison, and according to Belobrovtsev, the current contribution is no longer enough to prepare a nutritious meal, let alone the quality or healthiness of the meal. “Thus, the 1-euro increase in the school lunch support per student in one day is enough to maintain the current quality of food offered in schools. A full-value school lunch must be guaranteed for all students, regardless of which school they attend,” confirmed the former deputy mayor of Tallinn.
If passed, the law would have entered into force on January 1, 2024.
