Analysis of School Lunches and the Operational Programme for Food Assistance in the Czech Republic

1. School and pre-school lunches in the Czech Republic and the Operational Programme Food and Material Assistance

2. Czech Republic – Open Society Fund Analysis • The analysis by MEDIAN for the OSF Foundation • Maps the current situation in the provision of lunch in primary and secondary schools for free to children from poor households in the Czech Republic. • Contains description of the activities and attitudes of individual actors from the state administration (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works), and the non-profit sector. • Incl. quantitative analysis of the attitudes of the Czech population to provide free lunch • Maps experiences with the currently offered programs and their access to children from a socio-economically disadvantaged environment in general.

3. Importance of lunches • for many children the only warm and nutritionally valuable meal a day • influence on cultural and dietary habits • a strong social aspect, the child is part of the collective

4. History in Czech Republic • 2013, the problem has begun to be discussed both medially and across the society • 2013 Women for Women launched the first program based on private donations (for schools) • 2015 MoLSA has modified OP FMA so that lunch can be provided to children (for schools and kindergartens), • MoEYS has prepared its own grant from the national budget (schools). • 2016 - the first schools and kindergartens involved. • An other NGOs or even municipalities started with luches providing

5. Specific conditions in Czech Republic • all the children have access to the dining facilities • the price is fixed within a certain range and given by law (decree) • the family pays only 1/3 of the price (about EUR 1), the rest is paid by the nationa budget and the founder of the school • The Decree also specifies the composition of the food (the proportion of meat, vegetables, milk, etc.)

6. Common conditions of projects and programmes • In any case, the recipients of money are not parents. Lunches for children are always paid from projects directly . • Always emphasis is placed on preventing the stigmatization of the child. • The key to including a child into the project is the economic and social situation of the family, the different programs and organizations have different keys.

7. Identified positives and benefits • Improvement of the physical and mental condition of the child • integration into the collective • positive impact on school attendance • children take advantage of the activities offered by the school • better contact with family

8. Identified risks • stigmatization - as few people as possible have to know about the child's involvement in the project • administrative difficulty • definition of the target group (it is never possible to include all potentially needed)

9. OP FMA and school lunches • The beneficiary is the county („Region“), before the preparation of the project communicates with partners - schools and other facilities – their interrest and needs. • Target group: the Job Centre then confirms those who have at least 3 months of continuous entitlement to national benefits in need. This is the key. • This key for the TG selection resulted from the negotiations with the EC and from the administrative possibilities of the MA OP PMP. • Communication takes place between JC, parents and school. The child or nobody else knows that the child is involved in the project.

10. OP FMA and school lunches • Projects are being prepared for one school year; • Positive experiences with children's attendance, behavior, overall condition, improved concentration, social contacts; • Mostly positive experience with managing project activities (compared to other programs and titles) from the side of beneficiaries and partners.

11. OP FMA and school lunches • School year 2015/2016: 2 regions, projects for approximately 860 children; • School year 2016/2017: 4 counties, projects for about 3 300 children; • School year 2017/2018: 8 counties, projects for about 10,000 children; • Total number of regions in CZ is 14 • Identified problem - usually fewer children are involved than the project is ready for (school expectation is different from the reality of the children finally confirmed).

12. OP FMA and school lunches – identificated problems • Usually fewer children are involved than the project is ready for (school expectation is different from the reality of the children finally confirmed). • The informational and monitoring system used in CZ for the administration of European projects poses a problem for the beneficiaries (difficult, inconvenient). • Administration means extra work and costs for beneficiaries and partners, some schools or regions do not want to administer the project. • "Political" reasons - prejudices against TG, fear of abuse. • MA OP FMA communicates those fears with all stakeholders, with help of regions and schools that are already involved.

13. Thanks for your attention! Robert J. HřebíčekManaging Authority of the OP FMA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs CZ robertjan.hrebicek@mpsv.cz