School lunch costs are rising one after another in various places Why? Free of charge with child-rearing support

Cheap and delicious meals.

Although it is a great thing for child-rearing households, the cost of school lunches is rising in various places.

Some local governments increase the burden by about 4,000 yen a year, while others decide to make it free of charge.

It is because the prices of ingredients are soaring, but I covered the background and movements in each area.

I tried to find out the increase in school lunch costs

NHK's Kagoshima Broadcasting Station and Miyazaki Broadcasting Station independently investigated the status of the increase in school lunch costs.

[Kagoshima]

As a result, it was found that out of the 19 cities surveyed in Kagoshima Prefecture, 4 cities have raised their school lunch costs from this year.

There are four schools in

Kagoshima City,

Soo City,

Kirishima City, and Aira City

where the cost of school lunch has increased .

Of these, at the Central School Lunch Center in Kagoshima City,

the price will be increased by

4 to 6 yen at elementary

school and 10 yen at junior high school, which will increase the burden by about 1200 yen and 1900 yen, respectively. is.

On the other hand, in 15 cities such as Kanoya city, beef is replaced with pork and the number of desserts is reduced from 3 times a month to 2 times a month. I am.

[Miyazaki]

In Miyazaki Prefecture, 25 out of 42 public elementary and junior high schools in Nobeoka City have increased their school lunch costs by 5 to 20 yen per meal from last month.

At schools where the price has been raised by 20 yen, the burden will increase by 4000 yen for junior high school students and 3000 yen for elementary school students

compared to last year

.

Also, in Miyazaki City, five school lunch centers in the city that deliver school lunches to 27 schools have decided to raise the price by 3 yen per meal, and the city is investigating whether the price increase is spreading even at schools that make school lunches in the school. I am.

[Gifu]

In addition, the prefectural board of education in Gifu Prefecture has summarized the increase in school lunch costs for elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture.

As of May 17, seven local governments will raise school lunch costs from this year, and four local governments, Tajimi City, Toki City, Yamagata City, and Kitagata Town, excluding the three local governments borne by the government, will be paid by parents. It means that the cost of school lunch has increased.

Of these, Takatomi Elementary School in Yamagata City raised the price by 20 yen per meal, or about 4000 yen per year.

[Hokkaido]

Even in Hakodate City, Hokkaido, the cost per meal provided by public schools has increased by several tens of yen, and depending on the city, further increases are expected in the future.

Why is the price raised?

This increase in school lunch costs was directly due to the soaring prices of ingredients.

According to the prefectural school lunch association, which provides school lunch ingredients to public elementary and junior high schools in Kagoshima prefecture, the price of 690 items, which is more than 90% of the main ingredients, has increased since last month.

Compared to May last year,

▽ soybean cooking oil increased by 60% and

▽ imported beef increased by 25%.

According to the "Prefectural School Lunch Association," which provides food ingredients for all public elementary and junior high schools in Miyazaki Prefecture, the price of about 480 of the 2000 items handled since last month has been raised.

Compared to May last year,

▽ cans of soybean cooking oil increased by 54%, and

▽ spaghetti increased by more than 20% compared to April last year.

When asked about the background of the rise in food prices, it was said that soaring crude oil prices and the depreciation of the yen had an effect.

In addition, the Kagoshima Prefectural School Luncheon says that the price could rise further due to the effects of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

Person in charge "Understanding for children"

Yuki Hamada, director of the Kagoshima City Central School Lunch Center, said, "The first thing I thought about was ensuring the nutritional balance, quality and quantity of children. I'm still worried because the material costs continue to rise, but please understand. I want you to have it. "

In addition, a person in charge of the school lunch center in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture, said, "As the price of foodstuffs continues to rise, it is unavoidable to raise the price in order to maintain the nutritional value required by children."

Movement to avoid household burden

While price increases are unavoidable, some local governments take measures to avoid burdening households.

Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, will utilize the national temporary grant to subsidize the price increase of 8 to 9 yen per meal from July to March next year, and will not increase the burden on parents. Was solidified.

Hakodate City in Hokkaido decided not to pass on the increase to the school lunch cost because the influence of high prices has already affected the lives of citizens, but decided to bear it, and the cost required for the supplementary budget draft summarized this time, about 54 million The yen was recorded.

Hakodate City will submit this supplementary budget to the regular meeting of the city council scheduled to be held next month.

Tottori Prefecture Child-rearing support is also free of charge

On the 24th, the Tottori Prefecture Wakasa Town Council passed a supplementary budget bill that included the cost of making the school lunch fee of the only elementary and junior high school "Wakasa Gakuen" free of charge from this year, and it was approved by a large number of people in favor. ..

According to Wakasa Town, 116 people are eligible for free of charge, and the financial burden on parents is increasing due to the effects of soaring raw material prices, the declining birthrate is accelerating, and support measures for child-rearing households. Is an urgent need, so he proposed a budget to make school lunches free of charge.

Wakasa Town has been subsidizing half of the school lunch fee since 2012, and with this free of charge, the burden on parents

is about 27,000 yen per year for 1st to 6th graders, and about 27,000 yen for

7th to 9th graders. It means that each will be reduced by 32,000 yen.

Motohari Uekawa, the mayor of Wakasa Town, said, "By making school lunches free of charge, the burden of public education costs will be zero from the time you enter the children's school until you graduate from Wakasa Gakuen. I would like to see it lead to a migration and settlement policy. "

When NHK interviewed municipalities in the prefecture, Chizu Town and Daisen Town have already made the food supply free of charge, and Kofu Town is planning to propose a budget plan necessary for free of charge to the regular assembly next month, as well as Hino. As part of the support measures for the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the town is making it free of charge only this year.