The Ministry of Rural Development will be providing funding of HUF 1.7 billion (some 5.6 million euros) for the Kindergarten and School Milk Programme in 2014, 200 million more than this year. Tasks related to the Programme will be performed by the Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Centre (KIK), according to the decree issued by the Minister of Rural Development today.

According to the new decree, funding for the equivalent of an average of 0.25 litres of milk per child per day may be applied for within the framework of the Kindergarten and School Milk Programme. The regulations include a new element, according to which milk processing plants involved in the Programme will undergo preliminary testing.

The level of funding available for milk products such as milk, cocoa, yoghurt and cheese has also increased significantly, in addition to which kindergarten children with special needs will receive 100% supplementary funding, as too will several schools that have been included in the scheme as a result of settlement reclassification.

In kindergartens and elementary schools, the scheme is co-funded by the European Union and the Hungarian central budget, while in secondary schools it is provided exclusively by the EU.

(Ministry of Rural Development)