In order to guarantee access to food for those who need it, the public schools of the municipality of Sintra will keep the canteens open during the two months of summer break.
To be able to benefit from this initiative, all that is required is that the person is a student, or a parent of a student, and applies at the Sintra City Hall.
According to the data revealed by the municipality, an average of 4,550 lunches are served daily in June, and 1000 in August – a total of 250,000 meals. These meals are divided amongst the 20 Sintra school groups and cost the municipality around 322,000 euros.
The meal is always well-balanced and, for some families, it could be the only meal of the day.
Those who eat pay according to their income tax bracket. For those that are more in need, the meal is completely free. However, for those within tier B of the Portuguese income tax level, the price is 0.76 euros per meal, and it is 1.46 euros for the rest.
According to the municipality, this initiative has been up and running since the early 2000s and has helped many people throughout the years.
