Hanoi: Schools must post menus and be transparent about daily boarding meal costs.

Hanoi Department of Education and Training requires schools to publicize boarding meal menus and the origin of processed foods.

Preschool children's lunch - Photo: NGUYEN LAM

Publicizing the menu and food origin for meals at primary and secondary schools aims to strengthen supervision and also to enable schools and units organizing meals to be more proactive and serious in ensuring meal quality and food hygiene and safety.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training also requires that boarding kitchens must be designed and arranged according to the one-way principle: raw material reception area - preliminary processing - processing - dividing meals - sample storage.

The kitchen has insect screens on windows and doors, has hand washing and hygiene areas for staff, teachers, employees and students, and ensures there is enough clean water for eating and drinking, and is prepared according to the standards of the Ministry of Health .

Regarding food origin, it is necessary to ensure that 100% of food has contracts, invoices, legal documents, and clearly states its origin. Boarding kitchens are only allowed to import food from establishments with food safety certificates, and must not use food of unknown origin, expired, or spoiled.

Regarding the preservation process, it is necessary to ensure "three-step inspection": check input materials, check the processing, and check before use.

Boarding kitchens must keep food samples according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health . Tools for processing and preserving raw and cooked food must be separate, have distinguishing signs, and have separate cabinets for storing and preserving raw and cooked food.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training reminds schools that when signing contracts with food and meal suppliers, they must assess conditions to ensure safety and strictly bind legal responsibilities.

Along with publicizing the menu and food origin, the Department of Education and Training requires schools to publicize daily finances, including the total number of meals and the difference in revenue and expenditure during the day. The form of publicity is posting on the school bulletin board, hanging QR codes in convenient locations for parents to easily look up and update on the electronic information portal...

The Department of Education and Training affirmed that schools that organize meals for boarding students must take full responsibility for food safety at the unit.

From the 2025-2026 school year, Hanoi will implement a policy of supporting and providing free meals for primary school students. Accordingly, group 1, including students studying in 23 mountainous communes and the Red River delta area, will receive a support of 30,000 VND/day. Group 2, including the remaining students in the whole city, will receive a support of 20,000 VND/day.

The maximum support period is 9 months of actual study per year, equivalent to approximately 180 meal days/school year.

Hanoi City has earmarked a total budget of more than VND3,000 billion to support about 768,000 primary school students at public and private schools, excluding schools with foreign investment.

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VINH HA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ha-noi-truong-hoc-phai-niem-yet-thuc-don-minh-bach-tien-an-ban-tru-moi-ngay-2025091817343439.htm