Parents in Hanoi praised the boarding meals when they received 20,000 VND in support.

With an additional 10,000 VND for each meal, many parents in Hanoi happily "show off" that their children's meals are guaranteed to be nutritious, varied, and the menu changes every day.

From the 2025-2026 school year, more than 3,000 billion VND from the State budget will be used to implement the policy of supporting boarding meals for primary school students in Hanoi . Thanks to the support of 20,000-30,000 VND for lunch each day, parents will partly reduce the financial burden and feel more secure when their children are provided with meals at school.

Lunch boxes at Cao Vien II Primary School. Photo: PHCC

Looking at the trays of hot rice with various dishes, stir-fries, and soups sent by the teacher to the class group every day, Ms. Dao Thi Hoa, a parent whose child studies at Cao Vien II Primary School (formerly Thanh Oai district, Hanoi) feels secure and satisfied.

Ms. Hoa said that before, her children's boarding meals cost about 30,000 VND/meal. Each month, she had to pay nearly 700,000 VND, not including boarding service fees. "My family has two children attending primary school, and the monthly boarding meal fee is up to 1.5 million VND. Now, the two children only have to pay 400,000 VND, saving a million VND each month while the meals are still nutritious. This is a very practical policy for students in the capital," Ms. Hoa said.

The school's lunches were highly praised by parents. Photo: PHCC

In addition to reducing financial pressure, what makes Ms. Hoa happy is that the teacher always publicizes the menu for the week and takes photos of the meals and sends them to the class group. The child's meals always change daily, including 2 alternating salty dishes (meat, fish, eggs, shrimp, etc.), a stir-fried vegetable dish and a bowl of soup. The portions are balanced between food groups, suitable for the child's development needs.

“Some days my child gets to eat shrimp, fried meat, stir-fried vegetables, and pumpkin soup. When he comes home and says it was delicious, he finishes his meal, and I feel much more at ease,” she shared.

However, this mother also hopes that the school will have more fruit for dessert or yogurt after the main meal to make the children's meals more varied and nutritionally balanced.

Boarding meals at An Thuong B Primary School. Photo: PHCC

Not only happy about the reduction of economic burden, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuc Anh, a parent of a student at An Thuong B Primary School (formerly Hoai Duc district, Hanoi) said that what surprised her was that the quality of meals this year had clearly improved.

“Previously, many parents were concerned when they heard about the support, worried that the quality of the meals would decrease. But in reality, I found the school to be more responsible, the menu more diverse, the dishes prepared cleanly, suitable for children,” she said.

Currently, after receiving support of 20,000 VND/meal, she has to pay an additional 14,000 VND, including 10,000 VND for lunch and 4,000 VND for afternoon snack. “Many other schools in the area, if they do not have afternoon snacks, parents only need to pay 10,000 VND,” she said.

After nearly a month of her child eating at the school, Ms. Thuc Anh noticed that the menu was rich, and there were even days when many students could not finish their rice portions. “My child always said that the food at school was delicious when he came home, sometimes he liked it better than at home. Looking at the full and neatly presented meals, no different from those at restaurants, parents felt somewhat secure when sending their children to school to eat,” she said.

Boarding meals at Phu La Primary School. Photo: PHCC

According to the calculation of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, this school year there are about 768,000 primary school students, of which more than 707,000 students studying at public schools are entitled to support policies. This shows the city's special attention to education and school policies.

The city leader said that the development of a policy to support boarding meals to implement the suggestion of General Secretary To Lam at the meeting with voters before the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly is to continue to pay attention to the education career, school policies, ensure the quality of teaching and learning, and create the best learning conditions for children in the capital.

Parents praised the lunch meals. Photo: PHCC

Most parents agree that the policy of supporting boarding meals has brought practical benefits: Reducing the financial burden on families, while helping students eat healthy, nutritious meals right at school. When eating healthy, standard meals, students also have more energy for afternoon classes.

Like many other parents, both Ms. Hoa and Ms. Thuc Anh hope that this policy will be maintained for a long time, and at the same time, it will be more meaningful if it is extended to preschool level, because children need to be provided with adequate nutrition right from preschool age.

The image of a 15,000 VND boarding meal for students in the mountainous region of Ha Tinh has caused a "storm" on the internet. For only 15,000 VND for a boarding meal, students of Vu Quang Primary School (Vu Quang commune, Ha Tinh) can enjoy a meal at school with a rich, nutritious menu in an air-conditioned dining room with a camera surveillance system.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/phu-huynh-ha-noi-het-loi-khen-bua-an-ban-tru-khi-duoc-ho-tro-20-000-dong-2446464.html