Nearly 200 schools in Denmark have been chosen to participate in a national pilot program testing free or subsidized school meals. The initiative aims to explore the benefits of shared meals for students.

The Ministry of Children and Education overview reveals that 191 schools were selected through a lottery to become demonstration schools.

The selection process considered geographical and socio-economic distribution to ensure a balanced representation.

Herstedvester School, Hejnsvig School, and Højmeskolen are among the schools chosen, and their middle school levels will participate in the scheme.

Approximately 26,300 students will be involved in the pilot program.

Out of the schools chosen, 138 are primary schools and 53 are independent primary schools.

The pilot scheme, funded by DKK 854 million allocated in the budget for 2024-2028, will test different models.

Some schools will offer completely free meals, while others will have a co-payment of DKK 15 or DKK 25 per meal.

According to children and school spokesperson Sara Emil Baaring, school meals can strengthen communities among students and address the issue of children not having breakfast or packed lunches.

A lottery was conducted to choose the schools, with 282 primary schools and 64 independent primary schools initially registering for the pilot scheme.

The distribution across school levels is almost equal, with eight percent being small schools where the entire school is included in the scheme.