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Kotka boosts portion sizes for distance-learners

The city's meal provider reacted to negative feedback from parents following the first week of remote schooling.

Ruoka-aineksia pöydällä.
Image: Katri Mannonen / Yle
  • Yle News

A packet of crispbread, spread, and a whole cucumber.

These are some of the things bulking out the meals being provided to high school students in the southeastern city of Kotka while they study remotely.

The change follows feedback after the first week of remote schooling, which suggested that the meals were lacking both in portion size and side dishes.

Parents raised concerns over the nutritional value of the meals, commenting in the local "Puskaradio Kotka" group on Facebook.

"A few people have praised the decision. Some said it was great that we reacted so quickly," said Kari Turkia, CEO of Kymijoki Food Services which is contracted to provide school meals in Kymenlaakso.

On Monday, vegetarian students in Kotka received a pot of spaghetti with beans. Yle weighed the portion and found it weighed around 400 grams, some 100 grams more than a similar portion weighed the week before.

Schoolchildren could also pick up a packet of crispbread, spread and a whole cucumber, which count as a week's worth of side dishes.

Story continues after photo.

Ruoka-annos vaa'alla.
The new, larger vegetarian main course provided to students in Kotka. Image: Katri Mannonen / Yle

Municipalities scrambled to provide food to remote learning school children as most parts of the country entered a three-week period of heightened coronavirus restrictions, starting 8 March.

Parents in Vantaa also raised concerns about the meals available there.

"Based on these packages, you can see the level of school food in Vantaa is inferior," commented one parent online, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

But local authorities defended the food packages, saying that they were forced to act quickly.

"When information about [the transition to] distance learning came, we had to arrange everything at short notice," Vantaa's Director of Basic Education Ilkka Kalo told HS.

According to Kotka's Kymijoki Food Services, some dishes are difficult to obtain quickly because such a large proportion of the country's school students are now distance learning.

Distance learning measures currently in place in most areas are due to expire on 28 March.

Last week Left Alliance leader and Education Minister Li Andersson talked Covid and schools with All Points North.

You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here or via Yle Areena, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your usual podcast player using the RSS feed.

APN Meets: Li Andersson of the Left Alliance
Left Alliance chair Li Andersson on the All Points North Podcast Image: Yle News