Turkey: Student lunch box costs rise by 27.67% in one year

The teachers' union Eğitim-İş has reported a 27.67% increase in the monthly cost of a student's lunch box over the past year. According to the union's calculations, the cost of providing a single daily meal for one student rose from 1,661.75 TL in September 2025 to 2,121.52 TL in September 2026.

Eğitim-İş highlighted that rising inflation and the increasing poverty line—which reached 123,465 TL for a family of four in September—are making it difficult for families to ensure balanced nutrition for children. The union warned that inadequate nutrition could negatively impact children's physical development, school attendance, and learning performance.

In response to these economic pressures, the union called on the Ministry of National Education to provide one free healthy meal per day to all students, stating that “one free meal is a right.” The union also noted that 1.858 billion TL was transferred from the Ministry's budget to the Türkiye Maarif Foundation in the first eight months of the year, an amount they claim could cover the monthly nutrition costs for approximately 849,000 children.