El Tarragonès allocates 8.9 million for school cafeterias for the 2026-2027 academic year

The Tarragonès County Council has announced the extraordinary line of individual grants for school cafeterias for the 2026-2027 academic year, with a maximum budget of 8,922,873.35 euros. The call is detailed in the extract of the Presidency decree of November 6, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona on November 12, 2026 (CVE 2026-10538, pp. 1-9) and registered in the National Grants Database with the identifier BDNS 940431. The amount will be charged to budget items 1.324.22726.01 and 1.324.48003.01.

The regulatory framework consists of the regulatory bases approved by the Plenary of the County Council in the session of February 24, 2026, published in the BOP with CVE 2026-01882 on March 11, 2026, with an extract in the DOGC on March 19, 2026, and whose final approval was published in the BOP on April 27, 2026. The awarding procedure is non-competitive, and the funding is provided by the Department of Education and Vocational Training of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in accordance with the funding proposal for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Who the extraordinary call is addressed to

The beneficiaries are, first and foremost, students who have enrolled in the center after September 1, 2026, inclusive, as well as families who have experienced a drastic change in family situation with economic effects after the deadline of the ordinary call. This includes:

• Deaths or serious illnesses of a family member.
• Divorces or separations of parents.
• Other situations of an analogous nature.
• Supervening cases with follow-up from the EAPS.

Secondly, students in specific socioeconomic circumstances within the Tarragonès region who attend centers supported by public funds in Catalonia may apply for the grants, in the following levels of education:

• Early childhood education, first cycle (only in schools owned by the Generalitat where it has been implemented).
• Early childhood education, second cycle.
• Primary education.
• Compulsory secondary education, where a cafeteria service is available.
• Special education.

General requirements include being enrolled in a center supported by public funds, the cafeteria service not being mandatory and free of charge, actual use of the service, not being in residential care, and meeting the prioritization criteria of the bases.

Amounts from 70% to 100% of the service cost

The grants cover 70% or up to 100% of the cost of the dining hall, a cost that in no case may exceed the maximum price set by the Department. The grants can be condensed into weekly periods —for example, three days each week— and not over entire months, except in particular circumstances duly justified, with the corresponding request for condensation document. In any case, the family must pay the difference between the granted aid and the cost of the service, and in cases of joint custody, the grant will be awarded to each parent for the days the student is under their care.

Two deadlines and electronic processing

The call provides for two windows for submitting applications:

• First call: from November 23 to December 4, 2026.
• Second call: from February 15 to 26, 2027.

If the publication in the BOP were later than the planned start, the deadline would begin the day after publication and would likewise close on December 4, 2026. Applications can be submitted at the school center, at the Consell Comarcal del Tarragonès by appointment, or electronically through the enabled platform. The student’s IDALU, the DNI, NIE, or NIF of all members of the family unit, and, if applicable, supporting documentation of separation or divorce, foster care, or single-parent family, along with the originals, must be attached. Requests for correction are resolved within a period of 10 business days from notification.

Resolution, administrative silence, and appeals

The instruction corresponds to the Education Area of the Consell Comarcal, while the resolution must be issued by the presidency of the corporation upon the proposal of the Department of Education and Vocational Training. The maximum deadline for resolution is three months from the closing of the application period, and administrative silence has dismissive effects. A contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against the resolution before the contentious section of the Tarragona Court of First Instance within a period of two months, or an appeal for reversal before the Presidency within a period of one month.

The effectiveness of the grants is conditional upon the signing of the addendum for the 2026-2027 academic year with the Department of Education of the Generalitat: if it is ultimately not formalized, the grants will be denied without the right to compensation for the applicants. With this call, the Consell Comarcal del Tarragonès activates the extraordinary channel for families who were unable to access the ordinary line or whose economic situation has worsened once the course has started, so that the application calendar —with the first deadline opening on November 23— becomes the key piece of information for thousands of families in the region.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona, no. of November 12, 2026, section I, pp. 1-9 (official reference: CVE 2026-10538).