Example Reform (Romania)

Name of the reform

Programul-pilot de acordare a unui suport alimentar pentru preșcolarii și elevii din unitățile de învățământ preuniversitar de stat (“Hot Meal Program” / “School Hot Meal Programme”), transformed in 2024 into the National Programme “Masă Sănătoasă” (Healthy Meal Programme).

Short summary

The Romanian Hot Meal Programme, launched in 2016 as a pilot initiative providing free daily hot meals (or food packages where hot meals could not be delivered) to children in selected state schools and kindergartens.

The programme aimed to improve school attendance, reduce early school leaving, support children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and promote healthier nutrition.

Starting with 50 schools in 2016, it gradually expanded and evolved into the national “Masă Sănătoasă” programme in 2024, reaching more than one-third of Romanian schools.

Kind/type of reform

Social welfare / school nutrition reform, anti-dropout intervention.

Coverage: National 

National (pilot initially implemented in selected schools, 2024 expanded nationally)

Policy Cycle

Agenda setting

Context: Romania has long faced high levels of educational disadvantage, particularly in rural and poor communities. School participation and attendance are strongly influenced by socio-economic factors, including food insecurity and poverty. The programme was introduced to ensure equal access to education, improve attendance, reduce school dropout, and support vulnerable children through the provision of a daily meal.

Aim: The main purpose of the program is to reduce the school dropout rate and ensure fair and non-discriminating access to education for all preschoolers and school students in Romania.

Target groups

Pre-school children and students in public pre-university education.
Children from disadvantaged, poor, rural, geographically isolated and socially vulnerable communities.
Schools with higher risks of exclusion and dropout.

Formulation, adoption, and implementation

Legislative documents:

Emergency Ordin No. 72/2016 on approving the pilot programme providing food support for preschoolers and students in 50 state pre-university schools (Ordonanța de Urgență nr. 72/2016 privind aprobarea Programului-pilot de acordare a unui suport alimentar pentru preșcolarii și elevii din 50 de unități de învățământ preuniversitar de stat); norme_masa_calda_elevi.pdf

https://gcnf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Romania_2021_final2.pdf 

Key actions /main measures

The pilot Hot Meals in Schools Program began in 2016 in 50 schools and expanded significantly over the following years. By 2021, it was providing food support to preschoolers and students in 150 public education establishments.

In the 2020/2021 school year, the program reached approximately 60% of all primary and secondary school-aged children, as well as some in early childhood education and vocational training. In total, around 1.9 million children received food through the program, out of the 3.2 million children in the country.

The continuation of the program was approved by, extending support to students in 450 public schools for the 2022/2023 academic year. Beneficiaries received either a hot meal or a food package, with a daily limit of RON 15 per child.

Evaluation and maintenance

The programme’s gradual expansion over multiple school years and the increasing number of participating schools indicate that it has generally been viewed as a successful policy initiative.

Positive outcomes include stronger policy support, nationwide scale-up, improved access to food for children in disadvantaged communities, and a contribution to educational participation by reducing poverty-related barriers to schooling.

The programme also benefited from sustained political and institutional commitment, eventually leading to its transformation into the National Healthy Meal Programme.

However, several challenges have been identified, including limited evidence regarding its direct impact on learning outcomes, uneven implementation across localities due to procurement and infrastructure constraints, and concerns about the effectiveness of targeting, as some beneficiary schools reported relatively low dropout rates.

Moreover, inadequate facilities for preparing and serving hot meals, insufficient funding, human resource shortages, and the lack of robust long-term monitoring and impact evaluation have raised questions about programme management and overall effectiveness.

Sustainability

The programme’s sustainability improved substantially when it was institutionalised as the National Healthy Meal Programme in 2024, supported by dedicated budget allocations and annual legislation. Continued implementation in 2025–2026 demonstrates strong government commitment. 

Transferability potential

School meal programmes can be an effective tool for promoting educational equity when combined with broader anti-poverty measures. A gradual pilot phase before nationwide implementation allowed policymakers to test delivery mechanisms and adapt the programme to local conditions.

Implementation depended on strong cooperation among education authorities, municipalities, food providers and health institutions, while effective targeting required the use of reliable socio-economic and dropout-risk indicators. Finally, maintaining flexibility by offering either hot meals or food packages helped ensure implementation in rural and geographically remote areas.