The government will introduce a maximum price to equalize the large price difference for living expenses. Father of two Erik Carlos Svendsrud thinks it’s a good idea. MAXIMUM PRICE IS GOOD: Erik Carlos Svendsrud thinks NOK 578 per child each month is a bit much. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news – It’s getting expensive now, everything has become more expensive. Max price can make it financially easier for us in everyday life, says Svendsrud. He himself pays NOK 1,156 in food money every month for his two children at the Holmejorde nursery school in Lillehammer. This means that the nursery is well above the national average when it comes to the price of food. Facts about food money in kindergartens Photo: Ruth Barsten / news Kindergartens can choose to have a food offer and charge for it. The kindergartens can take as much food money as they want, as long as the money is actually used for the food offer. The average in Norway is NOK 322 in food allowance per month. 2,693 kindergartens are above the national average. 362 kindergartens charge NOK 500 or more. There is little supervision of what the money is actually used for. The municipalities often have a fixed rate for all their kindergartens, and this is politically agreed. The private nurseries set their own rates for food allowance in their nurseries. The municipalities are not allowed to place limits on what the food money should be in the private kindergartens. Will erase class differences The Ministry of Education and Culture has obtained figures which show that food allowance rates vary greatly in both municipal and private kindergartens. FOOD IS GOOD: Torkild eats whatever comes on the dinner table, at least during kindergarten. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news The national average is NOK 322 per child per month in food money, but more than half of all kindergartens in Norway are above this. They have made an overview of the price level for all the kindergartens in the country. The Minister of Education believes this creates a class divide between those who can afford it and those who can’t, and therefore believes that a maximum price can reduce the differences. WANT TO REDUCE DIFFERENCES: Minister of Education Tonje Brenna (Ap) Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen – It is not good that the food allowance varies from zero to almost a thousand kroner in one and the same municipality, I think the parents find that unreasonable, says Minister of Education Tonje Brenna (Ap) . The government envisages either a national maximum price or a local arrangement where the municipalities decide the ceiling themselves. Fears a maximum price means worse food But not everyone thinks that a maximum price is a good idea’. HEALTHY PACKAGED FOOD ALSO COSTS: Fredrik Sundt Brynhildsvoll is happy that he doesn’t have to shop and prepare large packed lunches every day. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news One of them is Fredrik Sundt Brynhildsvoll, who has two children in Holmejordet kindergarten. – I am afraid that the food offer for my children will become worse and less varied, he says and doubts whether he himself could make enough varied food packages for the same price. He is supported by Ranveig Pedersen, who also has two children at Holmejordet. She is very satisfied with the food allowance scheme in the nursery, and does not think NOK 578 per child per month is too much. This corresponds to NOK 29 a day, when weekends are deducted. LESS MONEY GIVES LESS FOOD: Ranveig Pedersen has a full-time job and has two children in kindergarten. She believes that a lower food allowance rate results in poorer food options for the children. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news – I wouldn’t have spent any less money if I were to buy bread, cold cuts, fruit and vegetables, and made varied and healthy lunch packs at home, says Pedersen, who believes that less food money leads to more ready meals. CRITICAL: Jan Tore Sanner (H) Photo: Lokman Ghorbani The right-wing Jan Tore Sanner is critical of the detailed management of the kindergartens. Instead of a maximum price, Høyre would rather give support to those families who can’t afford it. – It should be automatic that those who are entitled to subsidized nursery school fees also receive support for food money, says Sanner. – Worth the money Lillehammer is among the municipalities in the country with the highest cost of municipal kindergartens. LOW MAXIMUM PRICE HAS CONSEQUENCES: Kindergarten manager in Lillehammer Marianne Slåen Bruket Photo: Ruth Barsten / news But the kindergarten manager in Lillehammer has received no complaints about the food allowance scheme or the price. This is money well spent, says nursery manager Marianne Slåen Bruket. She justifies this by saying that the money is used, among other things, to pay her own kitchen assistant. – A kitchen manager with nutrition expertise frees up time for the educational staff, so they can be with the children, says Slåen Bruket. LUNCH IS LEARNING: Inger Line Sønsteli is the kitchen manager for 40% of her position at Holmejordet kindergarten. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news The nursery manager is afraid of the consequences if the government introduces a maximum price that is lower than what the parents in Lillehammer pay in today. – If the maximum price is lower, we have to make an assessment and look at how we can manage to maintain a good enough supply of food for the children. A consequence could be to only offer fruit and milk, says Marianne Slåen Bruket. Exactly how the food allowance solution will be is uncertain. But in the course of next year, the government will send out a proposal for consultation on stricter regulation of the food allowance SOCIALLY AND HEALTHY: Homemade food is popular in the Holmejorde nursery school in Lillehammer. Photo: Ruth Barsten / news Correction: In an earlier version of the case, news wrote that the government envisioned a specific sum as the maximum price. It is not true. It is not said how much the sum should be.
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Will introduce a maximum price for board allowances in kindergartens – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
