Le Figaro Nantes
The measure is presented as the "guarantee of fairness between users". In Loire-Atlantique, a new method of pricing school catering will be tested in five public colleges* during the next school year. Starting from the observation that in these establishments of the priority education network (REP) located in Nantes, Saint-Herblain and Saint-Nazaire, the attendance of the self-service at lunchtime is less than 40%, the community says it wants to "facilitate access to a balanced meal".
To do this, it announces an evolution of the existing system. This allows each public college to freely determine the price of meals while respecting a maximum cost for families (€3.40). From now on, in the pilot establishments, progressive pricing governed by a scale of nine brackets linked to the family quotient will be introduced. It will start from one euro the meal.
Read alsoLyon: households with the highest incomes will pay more for the canteen of their children in college
Automatic calculation
The Department defends the simplicity of this measure by stating that the "calculation of the tariff will be automatic". Families will not need to file a social assistance file to benefit from an advantageous rate. With the symbolic bar of one euro per meal, the community claims to offer "an attractive price for a balanced, varied, quality meal, made on site by the chefs with fresh, organic and local products".
"Lunch is a convivial moment between young people, and the Department intends to facilitate the registration of the most modest families in the canteen. Eating well is a public health issue and each student must be able to stay for lunch on site in his college if he wishes, "says Michel Ménard, the president of the Department of Loire-Atlantique. The elected official specifies that the test carried out will cost one million euros.
See alsoAt Nantes University Hospital, are student nursing assistants better paid than incumbents?
55% increase
While some families will therefore pay less for meals during the meridian break, others will see their rates increase. This concerns the wealthiest households. Because with the new tariff system, the maximum cost of the meal is now capped at € 5.30. For households in the highest bracket, this represents an increase of 55%.
The Loire-Atlantique Department aims to generalize progressive pricing to all public colleges in the sector at the start of the September 2024 school year.
*Claude-Debussy, La Durantière, Rosa-Parks in Nantes, Ernest-Renan in Saint-Herblain and Pierre-Norange in Saint-Nazaire.