Mayor plans to scrap dessert for poor kids
Only wealthy children will be given dessert with their school lunches, while those from poor families will go without, under plans drawn up by a mayor in central Italy.
The mayor of Pomezia, Fabio Fucci, has proposed the two-tier menu system in response to requests from a number of low-income families, Corriere della Sera said on Tuesday.
Under the plan, parents will be able to pick from two menus of different prices. The more expensive one will come with dessert, while children from poorer families will go without the sweet.
The move by the Five Star Movement (M5S) mayor has been met with ire in some quarters.
Chiara Scuvera, a Democratic Party (PD) MP who is part of the government’s social affairs commission, described the plan as “shameful discrimination”.
The idea is “the umpteenth proof that the phenomenon of child poverty exists in Italy,” she was quoted in Corriere as saying.
A recent report by Save the Children found that 1.3 million children in Italy lived in poverty in 2013, a jump of 30 percent since the previous year. Under the charity’s definition, those living in “extreme hardship” suffered from a lack of access to a nutritious diet, healthcare and education.
READ MORE: More than 1m Italian children are in poverty
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The mayor of Pomezia, Fabio Fucci, has proposed the two-tier menu system in response to requests from a number of low-income families, Corriere della Sera said on Tuesday.
Under the plan, parents will be able to pick from two menus of different prices. The more expensive one will come with dessert, while children from poorer families will go without the sweet.
The move by the Five Star Movement (M5S) mayor has been met with ire in some quarters.
Chiara Scuvera, a Democratic Party (PD) MP who is part of the government’s social affairs commission, described the plan as “shameful discrimination”.
The idea is “the umpteenth proof that the phenomenon of child poverty exists in Italy,” she was quoted in Corriere as saying.
A recent report by Save the Children found that 1.3 million children in Italy lived in poverty in 2013, a jump of 30 percent since the previous year. Under the charity’s definition, those living in “extreme hardship” suffered from a lack of access to a nutritious diet, healthcare and education.
READ MORE: More than 1m Italian children are in poverty
Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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