According to Alice Bernard, leader of the PTB in the parliament of Wallonia-Brussels Federation, families are spending twice as much on food between 2016 and today. Furthermore, she mentioned that one in five families gives up the hot meals available in school because of the high price. As a solution, Bernard suggested a freeze on school meal prices as an emergency measure to help struggling families. She believes that making school meals completely free, similar to other countries, is a political choice. Last week, their party motion to freeze school meal prices was not accepted, and they plan to file a proposal for a decree.
Food insecurity is also a concern, with one in five children arriving at school hungry, according to a survey by the League of Families this summer. The survey found that 67% of parents pay 49 euros per month for hot meals in kindergarten, while 47% and 30% of parents pay for the same service in primary and secondary schools, respectively. Merlin Gevers, the project manager at the League of Families, noted that many schools charge amounts deemed too high.
In October 2022, the government of Wallonia-Brussels Federation promised to make canteens free for all primary years of the differentiated supervision. Although many meals have been offered through various calls for projects, this aid is not yet universal. Gevers believes that a decree framework is needed to make this support structural and to establish a clear and common framework to systematize free meals. In December, the Minister for School Buildings and Budget, Frédéric Daerden, will submit a decree aimed at perpetuating the subsidization of free meals of nutritional quality and integrating sustainability criteria in nursery and primary education establishments with a socio-economic index of 1 to 5.
The decree aims to target a socially weakened public without creating discrimination between pupils of the same school and without stigmatizing children of different categories. To benefit from the system, schools must promote local, healthy, and balanced food. A budget of 21.4 million euros per year will be devoted to the implementation of this decree.
“Between 2016 and today, families have to spend twice as much on food. One in five families give up the hot meal available in the school because of its price”, indicates the leader PTB in the parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Alice Bernard Federation. This calls for a freeze on the price of school meals. “What we are proposing is an emergency measure to allow families to keep their heads above water. In other countries, school meals are completely free. It is a question of political choice”, she believes. Last week, the party tabled a motion to this effect which was not accepted. The party does not intend to stop there and intends to file a proposal for a decree.
According to a survey carried out by the League of Families this summer, 67% of parents pay 49 euros per month for hot meals in kindergarten, 47% pay 49 euros per month in primary school and 30% of parents in secondary school pay 53 euros per month for midday hot meals. Since then, prices have risen once more.
“A significant part of the schools continue to charge amounts deemed too high, to which must be added the price of monitoring lunchtimes that certain establishments demand”observes Merlin Gevers, project manager at the League of Families.
At the end of the budgetary conclave of October 2022, the government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation undertook to make canteens free for all the primary years of the differentiated supervision. Through several calls for projects, many meals have already been offered but this aid is still not generalized.
“The budget allocated to school meals by the government of the Federation has increased considerably and it is very positive but it is not enough to reach all the pupils. A decree framework would make it possible to make this support structural and to establish clear and a common framework, therefore to systematize free meals”adds Merlin Gevers.
The Minister for School Buildings and the Budget in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Frédéric Daerden will submit a decree to the next government aimed at perpetuating the subsidization of free meals, of nutritional quality and integrating sustainability criteria in nursery and primary education establishments having a socio-economic index of 1 to 5 within the framework of the decree relating to differentiated supervision.
Free hot meals in municipal education
“By targeting this type of teaching, the objective is to mobilize a transparent criterion making it possible to best reach a socially weakened public without creating discrimination between pupils of the same school and without stigmatizing one or the other category. of children”, says the minister’s spokesperson.
To be able to benefit from the system, schools must meet certain criteria such as promoting local, healthy and balanced food. A budget of 21.4 million euros per year will be devoted to the implementation of this decree. In concrete terms, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation
The issue of food insecurity in schools is a pressing concern that must not be ignored. The rising cost of school meals has caused significant financial strain on families, with one in five children arriving at school hungry. The proposal to freeze the price of school meals is a necessary emergency measure that might help alleviate this burden. Furthermore, the campaign for free school meals, like in other countries, must be pushed forward as a political priority. While progress has been made with the implementation of subsidized free meals for primary years in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, more must be done to ensure that every student has access to healthy and balanced meals regardless of their socioeconomic background. It is time to work towards a common and structural framework through a decree to guarantee equal access to free meals for all. We must not let our children go hungry and we must take a stand to address this persistent issue in our education system.