More than 110,000 minors living in vulnerable homes in the Valencian Community, almost half of the 252,770 children in poverty, do not receive a school canteen scholarship, according to the latest 2022 Living Conditions Survey conducted by Save the Children .
In this way, in the Valencian Community, only 138,432 students would be receiving dining aid and "in worse conditions" there are 32,100 children and adolescents "who cannot afford to eat a plate of chicken, meat or an equivalent protein at least every two days", according to the extrapolation of data carried out by the survey made public this Thursday by the NGO.
Thus, the school canteen grants only reach 19.72% of the students in pre-school and compulsory education in the Valencian Community.
The disparities in coverage of dining room scholarships between communities range from 2.12% in the Region of Murcia, 8.2% in the Community of Madrid or 12.44% in Catalonia, to 18.11% in Andalusia or to 28.72% in the Canary Islands, and only the Basque Country covers all students at risk of poverty.
In addition, the free aid for the dining room is still not processed by direct concession – it is granted as a right to everyone who meets the criteria – but by competitive competition, through a points system.
"What this type of system implies is that, if there is no budget left in that scholarship item, even if the families meet the requirements, they can be left without that help," explains Rodrigo Hernández, director of Save the Children in the Valencian Community.
Faced with this situation, the most vulnerable families, whose vacations have been limited by rising prices and now face a "back to school" with the same trend, rely on dining room scholarships to cover the food needs of their sons and daughters.
“Thanks to the dining room scholarships, boys and girls with few resources can opt for a more complete and healthy nutrition, which also has a clear impact on their school performance,” Hernández highlights.
For the organization, these scholarships act as a "pillar of support", not only easing the financial burden on families, but also providing children and adolescents with a "safe space" where they can receive a balanced diet that contributes to their growth and well-being. general.
"It is essential that the new regional government increase the scope of these scholarships, so that no boy or girl is left behind for economic reasons," says Hernández.
