Helsinki starts providing free lunch in playgrounds

The City of Helsinki on from 1st June started to provide a free warm lunch every weekday to all children under 16 in 32 playgrounds and will continue to do so until 7 August.

The lunch is served at 12 noon, said the City of Helsinki in a press release.

The playground instructors will provide guidance for enjoying the meal safely.

The authorities urged children to bring a water bottle and a spoon/fork from home. The food is served on disposable plates to ensure good hygiene and cleanliness.

The playgrounds will provide the disposable plates. Only the meal distributors and the child/guardian will handle the plate of each of the children.

There will be plenty of hand-sanitizer available in the playgrounds, but it is important that children also wash their hands before coming to the playgrounds.

Guardians are urged to look after their children’s hand hygiene. The toilets in the playgrounds will remain open.

On the busiest days, the queues to the toilets may be long. The children may bring a water bottle and soap from home for washing hands.