Preschool Chain Hagvidson Under Fire for Profit-Driven Food Budgeting
Hagvidson preschool chain criticized for prioritizing profits over child nutrition.
Key Points
- • Hagvidson reported profits of 64.5 million SEK while rationing food for children.
- • Staff instructed to limit butter servings to cut costs, impacting children's meals.
- • Owners took out 18.7 million SEK in dividends and 10 million SEK in salaries.
- • Budget shortages reported, with funds for children's meals diverted to staff meals.
Hagvidson, a rapidly growing preschool chain in Sweden, is facing significant scrutiny over its financial practices. Reports indicate that while the company has declared profits of 64.5 million SEK, it has been imposing severe restrictions on food budgets for children, raising concerns about the prioritization of profits over child welfare.
Staff members have reported being instructed to ration use of Bregott, the butter spread, to only one topping per sandwich in an effort to control costs. This practice has sparked outrage among employees who claim that the food budget has not kept up with inflation, leading to insufficient meals for children, as some budget allocations are reportedly redirected to staff meals instead.
Documents reviewed by Aftonbladet revealed that profits from individual preschools are shifted to the parent company as corporate contributions, leaving the preschools with minimal resources to provide nutritious meals. In some cases, such as a preschool that reported profits exceeding 3.5 million SEK, only one SEK remained in the budget after the profits were transferred up to the corporate level. The findings indicate a troubling trend of financial practices that could undermine the quality of child nutrition in Sweden’s preschools.
Moreover, the owners of Hagvidson, who have no substantial experience in educational settings, have reportedly withdrawn a total of 18.7 million SEK in dividends along with an additional 10 million SEK in salaries, raising further alarms about the management's financial priorities. While numerous attempts were made to solicit comments from the company, CEO Michael Enghag refrained from addressing the financial strategies and practices in place.
As the debate over preschool welfare continues, the issue highlights broader concerns about corporate conduct and its impact on child nutrition in Sweden's education system. The call for transparency and ethical financial practices in education is becoming increasingly loud, as stakeholders demand that the welfare of children be placed above company profits.