The grocery card contains money that parents/caregivers can use to buy extra food for their child(ren) to take to school. Parents/caregivers can only apply for the grocery card if their child’s school is affiliated with the School Meals Programme.
The first contact with parents/caregivers about the grocery card is through the school. As a school, you are responsible for sharing information about the grocery card with parents/caregivers after being admitted to the programme. Parents/caregivers can register for a grocery card via a unique link from your school.
Is your school not yet registered for the School Meals Programme? Click the button below for more information.
The Red Cross helps schools with the organisation of the grocery cards. Do you want more information about organising the grocery cards and the support of the Red Cross? Watch the video.
Registration works as follows:
We ask schools to keep track of the registered children. Update the registration when:
TIP: It is useful to appoint a contact person within your school where parents/caregivers can go for questions about the programme or if they need help with registration.
Once parents/caregivers are enrolled in the programme, they receive a grocery card by post. Their privacy is respected. The envelope and the grocery card do not show that they are participating in the School Meals Programme.
The card is topped up with €25 per registered child twice a month. A family can register a maximum of three children. Parents/caregivers receive instructions for using this card in an envelope. They can also contact the customer service for support.
More detailed information about the grocery card is available on the Parents/Caregivers page.
View the list of all frequently asked questions. If your answer is not shown, please get in touch with our customer service our your Red Cross District contact person. If you have another question or complaint, please refer to our contact page.
A mosaic of children’s drawings forming a plate of food adorns the back of today’s Algemeen Dagblad. In the full-page advertisement, 350,000 children urge politicians to continue with school meals. Time is running out to prevent children from sitting in class hungry. Although most schools have resumed and the government programme is about to be presented, it is still unclear whether the School Meals Programme will continue after December 2024. Students, parents, and teachers are very concerned and participated en masse in a drawing campaign initiated by the Youth Education Fund.
