No more toast or hamburgers for five liras in school cafeterias: Annual costs exceed the minimum wage

The fees students have to pay at the cafeteria throughout the year have seen a 100 percent increase. This year, the expenses students will incur at school cafeterias for basic nutrition have also multiplied. 

According to the report by Sayime Başçı from Sözcü Newspaper and the list announced by the Istanbul Chamber of Cafeteria Tradesmen, while tea and water prices have increased by 100 percent compared to last year, hamburgers have increased by 60 percent, meatballs in bread by 66 percent, and sandwich prices by 50 percent. Students who paid 95 TL for a set meal in the 2023-2024 academic year will pay 140 TL this year, marking a 47.3 percent increase.

In public schools, the cost of a meal consisting only of a simit, water, and ayran for students has reached 45 TL. While the price of a cheese toast, which was 30 TL last year, has risen to 50 TL, the prices of pastries, simit, and açma have increased from 12 TL to 20 TL. The price of meatballs in bread has risen to 100 TL, while hamburgers are being sold in schools for 80 TL. The price of milk in the cafeteria has increased from 13 TL to 20 TL.

While the daily cost of a set meal for a student to eat healthily at school is 140 TL, the weekly cost rises to 700 TL and the monthly cost to 2,800 TL. For an academic term lasting an average of 5 months, the cafeteria cost has risen to 14,000 TL, and for a one-year academic term, it has reached 28,000 TL, exceeding the minimum wage of 17,002 TL.

News Source: 12punto