Participatory budgeting brings more diverse side dishes to school and daycare meals for children

29.4.2026 News Participate and influence Education and training Participatory budgeting Preschool education Schools Basic education Early childhood education

Children eat in the school cafeteria. — Photo: Jenniina Nummela

A school food project based on the idea of participatory budgeting will be launched in Riihimäki on the eve of May Day, April 30, 2026. The project will start happily with May Day donuts. A total of 35,000 euros have been allocated for the implementation of the project, which will last about a month.

School meals received the most votes in participatory budgeting this term. The Better School Food project aims to improve the dining experience of students and early childhood education children and increase their opportunities to influence everyday services.

In the 2026 participatory budgeting, students and residents had the opportunity to suggest how to make Riihimäki an even better and more functional place to live.

Participatory budgeting funding will be used to provide changing fresh side dishes to complement the basic meal. For example, fresh bread, cold cuts, fruit, a warm vegetable side dish, a more varied salad or dessert will be offered.

The additions will be implemented as separate side dishes, not as changes to the main course. The background is that lunch is prepared at the Kauriala central kitchen in Hämeenlinna. The central kitchen also produces food for other municipalities. Changing the menu in the middle of the season would also have a broad impact on school meals in other municipalities, while the side dishes can be arranged locally.

The project will be implemented in both schools and daycare centers. The implementation will begin on April 30 and will continue at least until the end of the spring semester. Feedback will be collected from students during the project, which will be used to evaluate the functionality of the side dishes and their impact on the dining experience.

The snack experiment planned within the framework of participatory budgeting will be implemented during the autumn semester. 10,000 euros of participatory budgeting funding has been allocated for the afternoon snack experiment for middle schools. We will provide more information on the subject closer to the start.

Correction on May 7 at 3:05 PM: Removed mention that daily changing side dishes would be brought to the meal. Side dishes change at least weekly.