Closer look: How much free school meals in Türkiye cost?

As the new school year in Türkiye approaches, the ongoing issue of child poverty coupled with increasing food inflation makes the provision of free meals in schools a significant topic of discussion.

How much would this initiative cost the state?

Does Türkiye suffer from child poverty?

As an obvious consequence of food inflation, children are malnourished not only at home but also at school and go to classes hungry

• IPA: According to the “Education Cost of the Economic Crisis” report issued by the Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA) in October 2023, at least one-quarter of school-age children go to school hungry.
• UNICEF: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s 2022 data indicates that Türkiye ranks just above Colombia in child income poverty among 39 countries in the EU and OECD, with a rate of 33.8%. This places Türkiye near the bottom of the rankings, alongside Colombia (35.8%), the United Kingdom (20.7%), and France (19.9%)

The subject of hungry children attending school and the distribution of one free meal in schools has come back into focus, especially with the rising prices post-2023.

Zoom in: On February 6, 2023, the former Minister of National Education, Mahmut Ozer, announced that all schools in Türkiye would begin offering free meals to children in preschool education. However, because of the earthquake disasters, this initiative was limited to certain regions and students in transportation-based education.

What would be the cost if Türkiye implement free meal policy?

• The average monthly feeding cost for a preschool child aged 4-6 is ₺3,244.13, while for a youth aged 15-19, it is ₺5,559.16.
• The average for the 7-14 age group is ₺4,401.64.
• Therefore, the cost per meal is ₺36.05 for the 4-6 age group, ₺48.91 for the 7-14 age group, and ₺61.77 for the 15-19 age group.

School	Age Range	Monthly Average Feeding Cost (TL)	1 Meal Cost (TL)
Preschool	4-6	3,244.13	36.05
Primary & Middle	7-14	4,401.64	48.91
High School	15-19	5,559.16	61.77

Source: Meal costs are calculated based on hunger and poverty lines (as of July 2024) determined by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS) and United Metal Workers Union Class Research Center (BISAM), using data from Ankara and Istanbul.

How many children go to school in last academic year?

According to the Ministry of National Education (MEB), the number of students in the 2022-2023 academic year, including private schools, is as follows:

School	Student Number	1 Meal Cost (TL)	Total Annual Meal Cost (TL)
Preschool	2,055,350	36.05	13,706,079,780
Primary School	5,535,531	48.91	50,084,491,937
Middle School	5,186,943	48.91	46,930,530,216
High School	4,780,201	61.77	54,624,083,152
Total	17,558,025		165,345,185,084

How many days will students go to school this year?

The 2024-2025 academic year will begin on September 9, 2024, and end on June 20, 2025. Excluding a 15-day semester break and two one-week holidays, and including official and religious holidays, the total number of school days is 185.

Providing just one meal per day to each student throughout the year would result in a total cost of ₺13.7 billion for preschool, ₺50 billion for primary school, ₺46.9 billion for middle school, and ₺54.6 billion for high school, bringing the overall annual expense to ₺165.3 billion.

What is the national budget of Türkiye?

• The total meal cost amounts to approximately ₺165.3 billion, which is equivalent to $4.86 billion at an exchange rate of TL34 per USD.

• In his 2024 Budget Presentation, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin stated that the Ministry’s budget had increased from $16.215 billion in 2023 to $38.294 billion in 2024.

• Since the 2025 budget is not yet determined, based on the 2024 budget, providing free meals in schools would account for about 13% of the Ministry’s budget.

---