The city of Freiburg wants to offer only vegetarian dishes in primary schools and day care centers from the 2023/2024 school year.

"We want to relieve the parents," says Freiburg's school mayor Christine Buchheit (Greens).

“Because many people forget to choose between a Räuberschnitzel and a patty a week in advance.

It also serves to save costs and simplify administration.”

Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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The delivery orders for meals in daycare centers and primary schools will be re-tendered for 2023.

The focus of the tender should be quality and not a prescribed fixed price.

Frozen food from a cheap supplier should not be ordered in the future either.

On the contrary: the organic proportion of the ingredients is to be increased to 20 percent.

"We expect that the prices will go through the roof next year, and a school meal should then cost at least seven euros," says Buchheit.

Simplifying the offering to one menu line is a way to save money.

"We do not ban meat consumption in schools, everyone can bring Bifi bars in their school bags," says a spokesman for the city of Freiburg.

"It has nothing to do with ideology."

The price per meal at primary schools increases to EUR 4.40 in the next school year and to EUR 4.80 in the following year.

The average purchase price for a school meal was around 5.70 euros in 2019.

With a parental contribution of currently 3.90 euros, the city had to subsidize the school meals considerably.

In a republic-wide comparison, Freiburg's own share of school meals is among the highest.

"Since the intersection of different eating habits is a vegetarian offer, the menu line should be vegetarian in the future," says the draft resolution of the municipal council.

If all children were given the same menu, the social function of eating would also be strengthened and arguments avoided.

The free voters and the FDP see the proposal critically, the left-wing majority in the Freiburg municipal council is positive about it.

A third of all primary school children in Freiburg take part in school meals at the 22 schools;

A quarter of them get reimbursed for the cost of meals from the job center.