Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced on Tuesday that, in addition to the already existing entitlement of free textbooks, the state will finance one meal a day for all elementary school students.

Next year’s budget will include an item under which the government will finance one meal a day in all primary schools from 1st to 8th grade, the Prime Minister said in a State of the Nation report presented to the parliament

He explained that that will cost the state HRK 550 million and this measure will provide meals for 311,000 children, almost 80,000 of whom live in poverty.

“We don’t want there to be even one child in elementary school who, due to circumstances in the family, does not have the means for a meal,” said Plenkovic.

He also underscored that the state will do everything to ensure that Croatian food is eaten in schools as much as possible.