About four months ago we talked about the food that is wasted in school canteens, when we echoed an initiative whereby a mother, Cristina Romero, collected signatures so that that meal, if it was in good condition, was addressed to social canteens And people in need.
Today schools have emptied children because they have started their school holidays, The dining rooms of the centers are closed and the tables are empty until the next course.
But What about those kids who only make one full meal a day, precisely what they did in the school canteen that is now closed for vacations?
During this course that has just ended, FAPA Giner de los Ríos has been collecting signatures for months to try to promote a Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP) so that school canteens, in one way or another, also open non-school days , precisely for those children who during the course have found in the dining room the food that their parents cannot offer them at home due to the economic situation in which they find themselves.
In this regard, Cristina Romero, the promoter of this collection of signatures so that the food of the school canteens was not wasted, commented her opinion:
“As for the FAPA initiative, I find it very successful and fair. In fact, in summer I collaborate with the social organization Educo precisely to help with this cause, that of non-favored families who only make one full meal a day at school and that when it is closed, they have a real problem. ”
The collection of signatures has been very intense since The requirements in the Community of Madrid to create an ILP are more demanding than in any other community in our country. 50,000 signatures are required and they were finally obtained.
In the words of FAPA itself
"In two years we have managed to recognize the problem, that there is a regulation, an agreement between the Community of Madrid and the municipalities and that there is a budget for it to be done."
Teamwork
From CEAPA they have also raised this need, that of the opening of school canteens for children who need it as an obligation on the part of the public authorities.
They have supported since this confederation, the Ombudsman's request to municipalities with “vulnerable families” during the holiday stage.
The social services of each municipality They mark minimum levels whereby families in danger of exclusion or vulnerable families, due to the economic situation they suffer, can opt for certain financial aid.
The situation of children must also be treated so that discrimination does not occur, for this many of these associations mentioned and others raised the possibility of scholarship to these minors in the urban camps that take place in the different municipalities, including of course the dining room service for them.
This supposed exit from the crisis that many media talk about, it turns out that has not reached the most disadvantaged families in the country who still need, to give a balanced diet to their children, the help of the public authorities, the administrations more nearby.
Closing the school canteens during the two summer months does not help parents or children, but quite the opposite. The balanced feeding of children must also be assured during the summer, according to organizations such as FAPA and CEAPA and public bodies such as the Ombudsman.
Solidarity defines us as a society and in the case of infant feeding, the situation is even more bleeding.
Photos | iStockphoto
In Babies and more | What are the communities with the most expensive and cheapest school menus? | Social canteens are needed in summer for the most vulnerable children | School canteens in summer: a sad reality
