School meals|According to the council’s initiative, the snack would promote students’ coping and well-being.
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Arja Karhuvaara and six other councilors propose a free snack for all children in Helsinki.
According to the initiative, adequate nutrition improves learning, brain health and children’s physical well-being.
Providing a free snack could cost almost ten million euros a year.
Politicians will discuss the matter in the board of education and training on Tuesday, the final decision in the city council.
Everyone’s children from Helsinki should get a free snack. This is what the city politician of the coalition proposes Arja Karhuvaara and six other councilors in their initiative.
The signatories of the initiative justify the free snack with its positive effects.
According to the initiative, food that is sufficient and has the right nutritional value has been scientifically proven to affect learning, brain health, concentration and a child’s physical well-being. Regular eating also promotes weight control in children and helps prevent overweight, which is a growing problem in society, the initiative states.
Initiative the signatories propose that the city of Helsinki allocates sufficient funds in the 2025 budget so that every child can be offered a snack in schools.
This spring, elementary schools in Helsinki offer a free lunch for all and a snack for first and second grade students participating in afternoon activities. Some schools sell snacks.
The city officials recognize the problem that skipping meals or replacing them with unhealthy options can lead to health problems, fatigue, poor concentration and learning difficulties.
According to the school meal recommendations, it would be desirable for students to be offered a free snack if lessons continue for more than three hours after lunch. Compliance with the recommendation in municipalities is, however, relatively rare.
Helsinki director of education and training Fairy tale Järvenkallas states in his statement that offering a free snack could cost several millions and no money has been allocated for serving the snack.
According to Järvenkallas, offering a snack equivalent to an afternoon club every day to all students in elementary schools would cost an estimated ten million euros. On top of this, there would be control costs of just under 600,000 euros per year.
If only margarine-smeared bread and a drink were offered as a snack, the price would be around 1.3 million euros per year.
Politicians are supposed to discuss the free snack at the Board of Education on Tuesday. The city council will ultimately decide on the matter.
In 2021, some schools in Helsinki started experimenting with free breakfasts.
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