Criticism in Anthering

Parents are annoyed about expensive school meals

Hot meals for children should be of high quality and affordable.

(Bild: Gerhard Seybert)

Where is a hot meal for children still affordable and healthy? "The costs are running away," reports a concerned mother from Anthering. However, municipalities often fight for every euro in the budget themselves and can't contribute anything towards food.

Julia Longitsch, mother of three from Anthering, fights like a lioness. But the effort to provide a healthy and affordable lunch for her children has become more and more of a hurdle race.

The same price for the little ones too
At the heart of the criticism: although the food is cooked in the region, not everyone is convinced of the quality. From toddlers to primary school children, the same price applied until now. With a price of six euros per child, more and more parents have lost their appetite, says the mother. Several price jumps put a strain on family budgets. Longitsch no longer takes certificates such as "family-friendly community" seriously. According to local leader Alois Mühlbacher (ÖVP), supporting the food financially would go beyond the municipal budget.

Following the criticism, the municipality will change its provider in November. The food will then be delivered shock-frozen. The advantage: the prices are now staggered and therefore no longer generally so high. However, parents are now criticizing the fact that the meal can only be canceled in the long term. "What do you do if a child falls ill at short notice? Pay for nothing?" asks the Anthering woman. Local head Mühlbacher is reassuring: "That's only the case in the initial phase because the company needs a quantity structure."

Municipalities organize meals at compulsory schools
At compulsory schools, it is up to the municipalities, which run the schools, to put healthy food on the table. All-day schools are obliged to do so. Parents in Anthering look to Bergheim, for example, where there are two options to choose from and the municipality provides support: "In our case, the retirement home cooks and then there is an external provider. The teachers decide," says Mayor Robert Bukovc (ÖVP). Recent price rises have not been passed on to the parents. Bukovc: "However, we will have to think about adjusting childcare costs in September 2025. Unfortunately, the costs are running away."

Every fourth pupil in Austria still has no access to a hot meal: "It is more than desirable that the public sector supports meals for schoolchildren," says Manuel Schätzer from the Initiative for a Healthy Life (Sipcan).