Millions of students go to school hungry

The press release, which highlights that students are going to school hungry, included the following statements:

MILLIONS OF STUDENTS ARE GOING TO SCHOOL HUNGRY; A FREE MEAL PROGRAM MUST BE IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENTED IN SCHOOLS!

The new academic year began today. We wish all our children, parents, and teachers a wonderful school year.

The school bells have started ringing; how happy for the children, but as the school bell rings, the bell of distress has also begun to toll. Why, you ask?

Because, with the opening of schools, the poverty and nutritional problems our children face are deepening further. Among the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Turkey is the second country with the highest rate of child poverty at 22.4 percent. The OECD average is 12.4 percent.

Since last year, canteen prices have been increased by 6.8 percent. Accordingly, the price of a toast and ayran, which children are forced to choose because they are cheap, has reached 130 TL. According to the list, chicken doner is 145 TL, açma and poğaça are 35 TL, and simit is 30 TL. The price of a half-liter bottle of water has also become 15 TL.

While this is the situation in school canteens, in the Parliament cafeteria, ayran is sold for 6 TL, Mushroom Soup for 12 TL, Veal Sauté for 66 TL, Tuna Salad for 70 TL, Mixed Fruit Plate for 30 TL, and Cherry Tayfir for 18 TL.

According to research conducted by the OECD, 19.3 percent of 15-year-old students in Turkey reported that they could not eat at least once a week because they did not have money. In other words, approximately one in every five students skips a meal at least once a week due to economic reasons.

According to data from the Education Reform Initiative (ERG), 5.5 percent of our children suffer from stunting, or developmental delay, due to malnutrition. Malnutrition also negatively affects their mental development. A child who goes to school hungry cannot get efficiency from the education provided at school and cannot concentrate on their lessons.

Despite this, the demand for at least one free school meal per day was brought to Parliament in 2022, 2024, and 2025, but was rejected each time. The Turkey School Meal Coalition announced that the necessary resources for 15 million students amount to approximately 1.5 percent of public expenditures. Free school meal programs have been implemented for many years in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Brazil, and India as one of the fundamental responsibilities of a social state.

One of the most frequent news items during the school term is children being poisoned by chicken doner or similar foods eaten at the canteen. In other words, our children are not only unable to access sufficient food, but they are also unable to access safe food in schools. Inspections in school canteens and cafeterias must be increased. The harshest penalties must be imposed on those who jeopardize the health of our children. Furthermore, instead of outsourcing school canteens to the private sector through tenders, the most appropriate solution is for them to be operated by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) on a non-profit basis.

Products sold in school canteens must be products produced by reliable manufacturers. Instead of junk food, the sale of products such as nuts, dried fruits, and fresh fruits should be encouraged.

Beyond accessing sufficient and safe food in schools, another important problem is our children's inability to access clean drinking water. As mentioned above, half a liter of water is on the sales list for 15 TL. Because many of our children cannot afford this water, they are forced to drink water from unhygienic, unclean toilets. However, the drinking water problem should be solved by placing water dispensers with clean drinking water in points accessible to all children.

While the opening of schools brings with it many expenses ranging from clothing to transportation and stationery, it also highlights the reality of food safety problems in schools, the fact that our children are not being fed, and that thousands of our children come to school hungry. To ensure that our 15 million school children can eat at least one full meal a day, a free meal and clean drinking water program must be immediately launched in schools. This practice, which corresponds to a low rate of 1.5 percent of total public expenditures, will provide a small relief to the children who are our future and give them the opportunity to spend that day at school focusing on their education.

As the Kocaeli Branch of the Chamber of Food Engineers, we once again emphasize that measures must be taken before it is too late, and before irreversible physical and mental problems arise in our children who will be the adults of tomorrow, and we call on all relevant institutions, especially the Ministry of National Education, to take action.

14.09.2026

TMMOB CHAMBER OF FOOD ENGINEERS KOCAELI BRANCH MANAGEMENT