13,200 students will receive lunch and food assistance during the current academic year.

PalmIn the 2025-2026 academic year, a total of 13,194 students in the second cycle of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education, Basic Vocational Training, and Transition to Adult Life will receive aid to pay for school meals and food, which represents 1,404 more students than last year. The Regional Secretariat for Educational Development of the Ministry of Education has published the list of beneficiaries, which includes students from both public and private schools that offer compulsory education or the second cycle of Early Childhood Education, according to the Ministry of Education.

Regarding school meal aid, 17,343 applications have been registered, 12,919 of which have been granted, while the previous year there were 11,565. This means that this year 4,424 students who had requested the aid did not receive it. On the other hand, 275 food aid programs were approved out of the 321 submitted, 25 more than the previous year's beneficiaries, while 46 people who had requested them will not receive them.

9.8 million euros

The Regional Ministry is allocating €9.8 million to these grants this year: €9.6 million for the cafeteria and €190,000 for food. Furthermore, sources from the department headed by Antoni Vera have highlighted that the number of students using the cafeteria service in public schools has been growing steadily in recent years. During the 2024-2025 academic year, a record 16,547 users were reached, consolidating the upward trend that began in the 2020-2021 academic year after the decline caused by the economic crisis and the pandemic.

According to the Regional Ministry, this increase is the result of implemented policies, such as setting a maximum price of €6.85 for regular users and €7.55 for occasional users of the dining service in public centers, effective December 2024. This measure, with a cost close to €561,000, has allowed families to pay, families with fewer resources.