In the face of rising child poverty and a high number of children coming to school hungry or without lunch, schools in Brussels will start offering students a cup of soup every day.
High inflation and soaring food prices have left many of the country's poorer households increasingly unable to feed their kids, resulting in many young people coming to school on an empty stomach and without a lunchbox.
The City of Brussels wants to actively promote the well-being of elementary school children with an initiative in collaboration with the Brussels Kitchens. All Dutch-speaking and French-speaking state elementary schools in the municipality will provide all children with warm and nutritious soup during the cold winter months.
"Ensuring that our Brussels kids can learn optimally is a top priority for the City of Brussels," Anaïs Maes, Deputy Mayor of Dutch-speaking Education for the City of Brussels, said.
"This is only possible if every child has access to sufficient and healthy food. In my opinion, school is the perfect environment to teach healthy habits and provide much-needed calories for all children," she added.
Fighting child poverty
In some schools, the soup will replace the traditional mid-morning snack (which often consists of a cookie or other sugary snacks). In other schools, where through subsidies from the Brussels Capital Region children are offered free fruit at 10:00, the soup will be served at noon.
"This approach not only reflects a focus on healthy eating, but also fits within our broader educational vision about deprivation," Maes noted.
Recent research by Hiva-KULeuven and HoGent showed that affordable school meals are a strong means of fighting child poverty. It found that preschoolers who received a free hot meal and who were taught about food had better knowledge of healthy eating and that their class participation increased, as well as their well-being and attendance at school.
Maes explained that particular attention is paid to children whose lunch boxes are (almost) empty during the lunch break.
"A hot cup of soup with a sandwich is ready for them, so that they too can enjoy a nutritious meal. An empty stomach hinders learning. Healthy and tasty food gives energy," she concluded.
