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The Ministry announced that said proposal will be presented for coordination to the interested institutions. If approved, 26,000 people would receive additional free meals. second, an additional 9.9 million. euros.
“Free meals for younger children are an effective means of developing healthy eating habits in children, which can then last a lifetime and determine the health and quality of life of an adult,” the report quotes the Deputy Minister of Safety Social and Labor, Eitvydas Bingelis.
It also points out that free meals for all help avoid stigmatization of children from low-income families.
Since the beginning of this year, free meals without parental income have been provided to preschool-age children from 314 general education schools, and as of September 1 of this year, all preschool-age and first-grade children have the right to free lunch.
Older students are entitled to free meals if their average monthly income per family member is less than € 187.5. The child’s money is not included in the average income, 20-40%. wages, as well as the same percentage of social security benefits for unemployment or job search, according to the number of children and family composition.
In exceptional cases, free meals, as well as support for the purchase of school supplies, can be granted to higher incomes, that is, when the income per family member does not exceed 250 euros per month. The exceptions are illness, accident, loss of breadwinner, as well as situations in which the mother or father is raising a child alone, when the family is raising three or more children, when at least one of the members of the family or a resident is disabled.
According to the ministry, free meals in schools from this September will be provided around 100,000. students, of which about 27 thousand. there are preschoolers and about 28 thousand. first graders.
About 37.3 million per year is needed to provide free meals to students from low-income families, preschool, and first grade. euros. If the idea of feeding second graders for free were supported, an additional 9.9 million would be needed. euros.
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