What do kids eat at school?

Do they even eat at school? At Comenius, they can choose from three main dishes and even ask for seconds! And that’s just the beginning… • #gyereacomeniusba

Parents’ real fear is that their child barely eats—or doesn’t eat at all—at school. They rush home, starving, straight to the fridge.

Let’s start at the beginning: the root causes of Hungary’s school‐meal funding system, which has deep flaws that have done generations of damage.

By law, children who qualify for state meal subsidies get breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack at half‐price. However, that subsidy is capped.

Pause for a reality check: does that mean a state school’s meal price can be at most double the subsidy amount?

Exactly! As chair of the city finance committee for six years, I heard that every meeting…

In other words, schools cannot cook with a higher per‐meal budget. If they did, the extra cost would have to come from the municipal budget to top up the subsidy for needy families!

Everyone understands the financial dilemma—I needn’t discuss it further…

So what do kids actually eat? Whatever fits into that minimal budget.

Let me illustrate today’s Hungarian canteen poverty through soup examples:

“Breaded soup,” “egg soup,” “ragout soup,” “plain soup,” “caraway soup,” “garlic soup.” Our language is wonderfully rich, yet these soups lack both flavor and variety. In reality, they’re just watered‐down, powdered soups,  with discounted and over cooked vegetable cubes.

The only thing kids might actually enjoy is the sweet and sour tomato soup with letter pasta—so they can spell cheeky little words before they slurp them up.

But what about meals at COMENIUS?

Our school has its OWN KITCHEN, where fresh dishes are prepared daily. Students can CHOOSE from three main courses every single day.

Our ingredient budget is far higher than the state canteen’s. Yes, it shows in the prices—but which parent wouldn’t happily pay for high quality, tasty meals, with multiple options and the chance for seconds?! Our chef creates the menu based on children’s age and flavor preferences.

By following the Finnish model, we’ll launch a self serve school canteen soon: kids will serve themselves from hot food stations, and a salad bar will offer fresh veggies (carrots, kohlrabi, etc.). They can go back for seconds as often as they like, and they’ll be responsible for discarding any leftovers—our concept teaches both independence and how to avoid food waste.

No child ever goes home hungry from our happy school!

DON’T FIT IN THE BOX?
COME TO COMENIUS!

#hanemférszbeleadobozba; #gyereacomeniusba