The general increase in prices is resulting in higher costs for school lunches as well. This situation is reflected in the interest in the project initiated by the nonprofit organization WOMEN FOR WOMEN (W4W): “Lunches for Children,” founded by Ivana Tykac ten years ago. “In the first five months of this school year, our ‘Lunches for Children’ project has seen an enrollment increase of 1000 more children compared to the previous school year,” stated Ivana. According to her, there are ways to ensure the affordability of school meals, but it requires initiatives from school authorities.
Starting from February 1, 2023, an amendment to the decree from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports concerning communal school catering came into effect. This amendment regulates financial limits on food purchases, resulting in an increase in the prices of school lunches and snacks. Some school authorities have therefore implemented a price ceiling on school lunches, and similar models could also be applied by other municipalities and cities. W4W, co-founded and directed by Ivana, drew attention to the issue related to the involvement of municipalities this week. “In June of last year, the Czech Republic committed to the European ‘Guarantee for Children’ document, which includes a call for all member states to provide at least one healthy meal to children every school day. In the example of addressing this issue at the municipal level, which aligns with this document, we see a way to prevent lunch prices from increasing to the maximum allowed by the amendment to the decree,” Ivana added.
For more information, please refer to the complete press release from WOMEN FOR WOMEN o.p.s.