Background: Universal free school meals represent a powerful public health tool to promote healthy eating among all children. Yet, in Catalonia, school lunches are not guaranteed for all, leaving the most vulnerable children at risk of nutrient inadequacy. Although grants that subsidize school lunches are available, this assistance only reaches 12.44% of at-risk-of-poverty students1. Moreover, for those who do receive the support, the economic relief is tied to the number of monthly school days. 

Objective: To estimate the economic relief that subsidized school meals offered in Catalonia constitute for the recipient families, assessing its fluctuation throughout the twelve months of the year.
Methods: The economic relief provided by subsidized school lunches has been assessed by estimating the monetary savings that families achieve by not having to cover these food costs. To do so, an economic value is assigned to hypothetic school meals designed based on the recommendations of the regional School Menu Review Program (PReME, for its acronym in Spanish)2.  The resulting cost is then deducted from the overall month expense for each age profile, as estimated by the reference budgets approach. 

Results: The daily cost of meals in the canteen ranges from €1.09 for children aged 1-3, and €1.91 for teenagers, with the cost of the menu for children aged 4-6 and 7-11 years of €1.38 and €1.72, respectively. As for the monthly cost, it fluctuates depending on the school days of each month. Therefore, July and August offer the least financial relief for families, as no school lunches are provided during the summer holidays, leaving parents to cover the full cost of meals. December follows as the third month with the lowest relief, offering only 11 school days. The estimated savings for these days are: €11.97 for ages 1-3, €15.17 for ages 4-6, €18.94 for ages 7-11, and €21.04 for ages 12-18. November and April, with 21 school days, are the months that represent the highest economic relief (1-3 years: €22.85; 4-6 years: 28 €96; 7-11 years: €36.15; 12-18 years: €40.16).

Conclusions: Our findings underscore the crucial role of subsidized school meals in alleviating the economic burden on families. However, the potential instability of such assistance poses challenges to maintaining food security and adequate nutrition. Additionally, the study emphasizes age-specific variations in the capacity of subsidized meal programs to allow economic relief. In view of the alarming rate of child poverty in Spain, which rose to 28.9% in 2023, and even higher in Catalonia, affecting 32.5% of children3, these findings underscore the urgent need for effective targeted interventions to ensure equitable access to nutritious meals for children and adolescents.

References
Save the Children. Vuelta al cole:Aumenta en casi un 20% el número de niños y niñas que no puede permitirse al menos una comida adecuada cada dos días(2023). Available at: https://www.savethechildren.es/notasprensa/vuelta-al-cole-aumenta-en-casi-un-20-el-numero-de-ninos-y-ninas-que-no-puede-permitirse.
Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya. Programa de Revisió de Menús Escolars a Catalunya (PReME), https://salutpublica.gencat.cat/ca/ambits/promocio/alimentacio-saludable/preme/ (2024, accessed 22 September 2024).
Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Nota de Prensa: Encuesta de Condiciones de Vida. Año 2023.Resultados definitivos(2024). Available at:https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176807&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735976608 .

Economic relief that subsidized school meals offered in Catalonia provide to recipient families and its variation across the year