Erfurt (dpa/th) – In view of the expected further price increases for school meals, Thuringia’s Minister of Education Helmut Holter (left) from the federal government has called for significant relief for families. The federal government must take the situation of families with school and kindergarten children much more into account, said Holter of the German Press Agency. “This is a requirement of the social policy of the federal government.”

In Thuringia, new price increases are expected for school meals in the course of the new school year, which begins next Monday.

According to a spokeswoman for the school catering network, school lunches in some places have increased in price by an average of 40 to 50 cents per portion over the past few months. Those providers who have so far refrained from raising prices are likely to see increases of about the same magnitude in the near future. In individual cases, however, there may also be higher surcharges.

The spokeswoman for the state parents’ association, Claudia Koch, appealed to the providers not to use the expected price increases because of the general cost increases for higher profits.