Reykjavík proposes raising pensioners’ meal prices to 1,900 krona

Reykjavík’s welfare council has approved a proposal to raise the price of meals for pensioners from 1,100 or 1,190 Icelandic krona to 1,900 krona from September 1, mbl.is reports. The proposal has been referred to the city council for approval.

The plan would apply to delivered meals, lunches at service apartments and meals at community centres. It would also simplify the fee schedule by setting one price for all meals, regardless of where they are eaten.

The proposed price for lunch at service apartments and community centres would rise from 1,100 krona to 1,900 krona. A single lunch would increase from 1,190 krona to 1,900 krona, while delivered meals would rise from 1,100 krona to 1,900 krona.

A delivery charge of 325 krona would be abolished and incorporated into the price of delivered meals. The welfare department’s contribution would then be about 38 per cent, according to the proposal. The increase for lunch would be 800 krona, while the effective increase for delivered meals would be 475 krona after the delivery charge is removed.

The majority representatives on the welfare council said the production kitchen at Vitatorg had operated under financial pressure for years and had significantly exceeded its budget. Renovating the kitchen would cost at least 500 million krona without resolving its underlying operating problems, they said.

The proposal is intended to allow operations at Vitatorg to remain within budget in 2027. During the first eight months of this year, the production kitchen had used almost all of its 265 million krona budget allocation.

The council also approved allowing the welfare department to abandon plans to renovate the kitchen and continue using a third party to produce meals. Preparations will begin for tenders covering the delivery of meals to homes and the receiving kitchens at service apartments and community centres.

Representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance criticised the increases, describing the proposed 43 to 72 per cent rise in lunch prices at service apartments and community centres as excessive. They said some increase could be justified but argued that the proposal went far beyond what was proportionate in a society where inflation stood at 5.3 per cent.