Tallinn to boost school lunch funding from September 1
The City of Tallinn is hiking school lunch funding starting this fall, increasing the daily lunch rate to €2.10 to help maintain meal quality amid rising costs.
The Tallinn city government approved the measure at its Tuesday meeting, setting the total cost of a school lunch in municipal schools at €2.10 a day, including VAT.
Mayor Peeter Raudsepp (Isamaa) said the 24-cent increase on the city's part reflects recent years' inflation.
"The goal is to ensure we can provide quality food for students in every school," Raudsepp said at a press conference.
"The city is now contributing more to meals in municipal schools than the state," he noted, adding that he hopes the state will soon update its own contribution to school meals as well.
Deputy Mayor Andrei Kante (Center) said the increase will cost about €750,000 a year.
He also said nearly €1 million will be returned to the school meal budget after being redirected in a previous city budget, calling it a long-awaited decision supported by school leaders.
"I believe these two measures will help us maintain school meal quality and our students will continue to receive tasty, high-quality school meals next school year and the year after," Kante said.
Currently, school lunches in Tallinn's municipal schools and at Tallinn Vocational College (TARK) cost €1.86 per student per day.
Under the new plan, the city's contribution will rise to €1.10 per meal, while the state will continue to contribute €1 per student per day.
The change is expected to affect about 44,000 students in the 2026–2027 school year. The additional funding, totaling just over €741,000, is included in Tallinn's 2026 budget.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Aili Vahtla
