Package of crispbread, spreads and whole cucumber.
These are some of the things that bring together the meals offered to high school students in the city of Southeast Kotka during their distance learning.
The change follows feedback after the first week of distance learning, which suggested that meals lacked both portion size and side dishes.
Parents raised concerns about the nutritional value of meals by commenting on local information "Puskaradio Kotka" group on Facebook.
"A few people have praised the decision. Some said it was great that we reacted so quickly," said Kari Turkey, CEO of Kymijoki Food Services, which has agreed on school meals in Kymenlaakso.
Vegetarian students from Kotka received a pot of spaghetti with beans on Monday. Yle weighed the portion and found it weighed about 400 grams, about 100 grams more than the corresponding dose was weighed the previous week.
Schoolchildren can also pick up a package of crispbread, spread and a whole throat, which counts as side dishes for a week.
The story continues after the picture.
Municipalities began offering food to distance students as most of the country introduced a three-week increase in coronavirus restrictions from March 8th.
Parents in Vantaa also raised concerns about the meals available there.
"Based on these packages, you can see that the level of school food in Vantaa is lower," comment on one parent online Helsingin sanomat newspaper.
But local authorities defended the food packages, saying they were forced to act quickly.
"When the information [the transition to] distance learning came, we had to arrange everything at short notice," Director of Basic Education in Vantaa Ilkka Kalo told HS.
According to Kotka’s Kymijoki food services, it is difficult to get some food quickly because so many of the country’s schoolchildren are now distance learning.
The distance learning measures currently in use in most areas are due to end on 28 March.
Last week, Left Alliance leader and education minister Li Andersson discussed Covid and schools with All Points North.
You can listen to the entire podcast using the embedded player here or via Yle Areena, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or a standard podcast player via an RSS feed.
Source: The Nordic Page