Hanoi provides subsidized lunch for primary school students: A mix of joy and concern.

Starting from the 2025-2026 school year, primary school students in Hanoi will benefit from a subsidized school lunch program. This city policy aims to reduce the financial burden on families and improve the quality of education. Alongside this good news, many parents remain concerned about food safety.

Practical and humane policies

At its 25th session (held from July 8 to 10, 2025), the Hanoi City People's Council passed a Resolution on supporting semi-boarding meals for primary school students, to be implemented starting from the 2025-2026 school year.

Accordingly, the support level for primary school students in Group 1 (currently studying at 23 educational institutions in mountainous communes and communes in the Red River delta before the administrative unit reorganization) is 30,000 VND/student/day for the main meal.

For Group 2, comprising primary school students in other educational institutions, the support level is 20,000 VND/student/day. If parents and the school agree on a higher meal cost than the government support level, the difference will be collected from the student, ensuring a minimum meal cost of 30,000 VND/student/day.

The support will be applied during the 2025-2026 school year, based on the actual number of days students receive meals, with a maximum of 9 months per school year. Thus, from the 2025-2026 school year onwards, approximately 768,000 primary school students in Hanoi, including both public and private schools, will receive support of 20,000 to 30,000 VND per lunch per day. The total estimated cost is over 3 trillion VND.

The city of Hanoi is developing this support policy to implement the suggestions of General Secretary To Lam at the meeting with voters before the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly on April 17, 2025, and to continue paying attention to and caring for the cause of education, school policies, ensuring the quality of teaching and learning, and creating the best possible learning conditions for children in the capital city.

Concerns about school meal safety

This practical and humane policy has received the support of schools, experts, and parents. However, many parents have expressed concerns about the quality of meals and food safety.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (29 years old) currently has two children attending primary school in Hoang Mai ward (Hanoi). Due to their busy work schedules, she and her husband chose to register their children for school lunch programs directly at the school.

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Upon learning that Hanoi would be providing subsidized school meals for elementary school students starting next school year, the couple couldn't hide their joy. "My husband and I are very happy. With two children in school, food expenses are a significant cost, and this support will significantly reduce the financial burden on our family," Ms. Lan shared.

Ms. Hoang Thi Hien (31 years old, Son Dong commune, Hanoi) shared: "I'm happy, but I'm still worried about whether this financial support will really help my children eat quality, safe meals. Recently, there has been a lot of information about contaminated food, vegetables and fruits sprayed with pesticides, and meat and fish of unknown origin..."

Even though the school is committed to ensuring food safety and hygiene, how can parents be completely reassured? I'm just worried that my children might eat poor-quality food, which could have long-term health consequences."

Like Ms. Hien, Mr. Tran Van Hung, whose child also attends primary school, shared: "We are very happy with this policy, but what we want most is for our children to have safe food. The important thing is that the quality control of food inputs in school kitchens must be strictly and transparently monitored."

Parents' concerns highlight the crucial need for increased control and supervision of food safety and hygiene in schools and meal providers, in addition to financial support.

What needs to be done to make the policy highly effective?

Speaking to PNVN newspaper, Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Psychological and Educational Sciences, assessed that Hanoi's implementation of a program to support semi-boarding meals for primary school students is a meaningful initiative, demonstrating concern for the future generation.

"This is a practical policy that brings many benefits to families, especially young parents with low incomes who have many worries. When children receive timely and adequate meals at school, parents can reduce their daily financial burden, work with peace of mind, stabilize their lives, and at the same time ensure their children receive thorough care and adequate nutrition," Dr. Tung Lam stated.

According to Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, the policy of supporting meals for students is not only about providing material support, but also demonstrates the concern of the State and society for the development of future generations.

This policy is particularly meaningful for students attending school for two sessions a day because it avoids interruptions to their studies, eliminates travel time between sessions, and ensures both continuous learning and the maintenance of a stable daily routine.

However, for the policy to be highly effective, the most important factor is food safety and hygiene. Schools need to strictly control the input materials, processing procedures, and create menus that ensure nutrition and are appropriate for the age group.

"Strengthening inspection, management, and supervision of school lunch programs will contribute to ensuring food safety and hygiene in schools are implemented rigorously, systematically, and effectively, giving parents peace of mind when sending their children to school," Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam expressed.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/ha-noi-ho-tro-bua-an-ban-tru-cho-hoc-sinh-tieu-hoc-niem-vui-xen-lan-noi-lo-2025080115182506.htm