Turkey School Meals Coalition launches İzmir branch

Duvar English

The İzmir branch of the School Meals Coalition on Aug. 7 held a press conference to mark the start of its operations. 

Members of the Chamber of Food Engineers, İzmir Medical Chamber, We Live Together Education and Social Research Foundation (BAYETAV), Veli-Der (Parents Association), and the Contemporary Education Association convened at the Chamber of Food Engineers' İzmir branch.

Bircan Yalçın began the joint statement by drawing attention to the prevalence of young-age malnutrition in Turkey, according to reporting by the ANKA news agency.

"Children who are in school and active throughout the day need to consume foods with sufficient calories and nutritional value at lunch. While private schools and a few public schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education provide lunch to students, nearly none of the public schools do not.”

She continued, “Solving the problem of nutritional deficiency, which has serious and lasting negative effects on children's health and future, is essential for raising a healthy and successful generation. Ensuring every child's fundamental right to healthy nutrition is the responsibility of the relevant public institutions, especially the political authorities.”

Yalçın defined malnutrition as a “hidden danger” facing the young generations of Turkey. “Children who go to school with only a pastry and fruit juice for sustenance face a hidden danger. Malnutrition not only means eating too little or nothing at all but also consuming food with low nutritional value.” 

Common health issues associated with childhood malnutrition include intellectual disability, learning difficulties, vision problems, and dental issues, according to the coalition. Therefore, it was imperative to promptly initiate and expand the provision of free school meals and clean drinking water to children at school.

The coalition cited the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognized “the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social development.” 

Based on this article of which Turkey was a signatory since 1995, the coalition reminded state officials that providing all children with a quality free meal and clean drinking water during school hours was a duty of the social state. 

“Therefore, all parties, particularly the political authorities, must take responsibility in the fight against malnutrition and prioritize free nutrition in public schools.” 

Yalçın also reminded of the government’s shortlived attempts in this regard. In recent years, persistent demands for one free and healthy meal in schools led to the Education Ministry implementing a program to provide free meals to kindergarten students. 

However, this program was discontinued after only one term, except in schools in the earthquake-affected areas following the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. 

The Turkey School Meals Coalition was established to pressure the political authorities and ensure the provision of one free meal and clean drinking water in schools, asserted Yalçın.

The soaring food inflation in Turkey has made healthy and balanced diets increasingly expensive for the public, resulting in nutrition-related diseases. 

While the global average for food inflation was 4.2 percent in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and 2 percent in European countries, it was 70.4 percent in Turkey.

According to union calculations, the cost of healthy and balanced nutrition has approached 600 lira (18.6 dollars) per day in Turkey. The amount surpassed the net daily minimum wage of 566.75 liras.