2023-10-04 13:56:00
“We want our children to grow up healthy and schools to also be a place for nutrition education,” said Babler in a press release. One million children would benefit from the measure, and the cost of 900 million euros would be financed by reintroducing corporate taxes.
Preventive effect
School attendance and textbooks are free because a good education is a prerequisite for participation in social life and saves the state costs later. Babler emphasized that healthy, warm food in kindergarten and school also has a preventive effect. After all, according to Statistics Austria, 43,000 children in Austria cannot receive adequate nutrition for financial reasons. Most recently, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) caused a stir with a video in which he questioned reports about families who cannot afford hot food for their children.
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“Volxküche” for those in need
In Traiskirchen (Lower Austria), where Babler is mayor, it was recently decided to set up a “Volxküche” to supply the city’s educational institutions with freshly cooked, healthy meals. Children from families with little money should get food for free, while others get discounts depending on their income. The city cannot afford a free offer for all children and young people with its budget. In the case of a nationwide measure, this would be possible through the possibility of financing it through reintroduced corporate taxes, but Babler’s office said when asked. According to the release, the cost of the free lunch, at 900 million, would be less than what the government spent annually on reducing corporate taxes.
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