School Lunch Payment in Cologne: No City-Wide System, So Ask Your Provider (Chips, Prepaid Accounts and Direct Debit)
Cologne has no single city-wide school lunch payment system. In the Offene Ganztagsschule (OGS) at primary schools, the lunch is not part of the city's income-based parent fee (from 0 to 234 euros a month since 1 August 2025) and is paid directly to the school's provider, for example by SEPA direct debit in twelve instalments. At secondary schools, canteen operators use their own systems: one Cologne school uses chips with a 3 euro deposit and an online portal, another uses tokens or a bank transfer with a required reference at 5 euros a meal. Families on SGB II, SGB XII, asylum seeker benefits, Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag can have the lunch paid with no own share through the Bildungspaket, by showing the notice to the school or provider.
What Is Different About Cologne
In Cologne, school lunch is not organised in one place. The school, or for OGS the provider, decides who delivers the food and how you pay. The city’s role is to set the OGS parent fee and to cover lunch costs for families who qualify. So the first step for a new family is simple: ask the school office or the OGS provider, in writing if possible, how the lunch is ordered, how it is paid, and what happens if your child is ill.
Primary School: OGS Lunch
The Offene Ganztagsschule offers a hot lunch, homework time and activities in the afternoon. You sign a care contract with the provider of the OGS, and the city’s youth office collects an income-based parent fee. The city’s parent fee page says that the fee does not include lunch and that the lunch money is paid to the provider.
| Yearly income | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| up to 24,542 euros | 0 euros |
| up to 36,813 euros | 60 euros |
| up to 61,355 euros | 100 euros |
| up to 100,000 euros | 180 euros |
| over 160,000 euros | 234 euros |
On top comes lunch. The prices differ by provider. Two real examples: the Albert-Schweitzer-Grundschule states 68 euros a month for lunch, due for all 12 months of the year. One OGS provider’s pre-registration form for 2026/2027 states 888 euros a year, collected in 12 instalments of 74 euros, exclusively by SEPA direct debit, and 15 euros per holiday week for holiday care. Note the “all 12 months” detail of the first example: the lunch fee also runs through the summer, so ask what you get for it in the weeks when the OGS is closed, as our page on the summer closure gap explains.
With direct debit, a failed collection can bring bank charges for the account holder, as the same form notes. Keep the account covered.
Secondary School: Canteens, Chips and Tokens
Secondary schools often have a canteen (Mensa) run by a caterer, with its own ordering system.
- Chip and portal. The Hansa-Gymnasium page reproduces a letter from the canteen operator for the new school year 2026/27. Families register the child on an online portal, collect a chip at the canteen against a deposit of 3 euros, and order meals through the system. It asks families receiving Bildungspaket benefits to register too, and says the switch to Bildungspaket billing happens once the school office has the certificate.
- Tokens or transfer. The Kaiserin-Theophanu-Schule announced a new caterer with a 5 euro lunch, tokens bought at a machine in the canteen building, or a bank transfer to the caterer. The transfer must carry a given reference with the child’s full name, and the school asks you to allow at least 3 working days before it is booked and tokens can be issued.
These are examples from two schools, not rules for Cologne. What they show is the pattern: register first, load credit or buy tokens in advance, and copy the reference exactly.
When the City Pays: the Bildungspaket
The city’s Bildungspaket page says eligible children and teenagers up to 25 can have the cost of the shared lunch in school, Kita and day care covered, with no own share. It covers lunch only, not breakfast or snacks. The overview adds that these benefits are billed directly with the provider and not paid out as cash.
| Your situation | What you do |
|---|---|
| SGB II, SGB XII or asylum seeker benefits | No application. Show your current notice to the school, Kita or provider, your child is added to their billing file |
| Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag | Hand in a copy of your current notice to the school, Kita or provider |
| Low earner | Income check at the Jobcenter, then application to the city. Advance the lunch cost, the city reimburses the proven payments |
The SGB II benefit has been called Grundsicherungsgeld in the law since 1 July 2026, while the city text still says Arbeitslosengeld II or SGB II. Show the notice you hold. The provider whose form we read asked families to send their notice without being asked, with a short application in February and August, so ask your provider about its deadlines. More about the application is on our page on school trips and the Bildungspaket.
Step by Step
- Ask the school office or OGS provider how lunch is ordered, how it is paid, and when you must cancel a meal.
- Register your child in the ordering system before the first day, if there is one.
- Set up payment: SEPA direct debit for an OGS, or a prepaid account, chip or tokens at a canteen. Copy the payment reference exactly.
- Keep a small credit buffer if the system is prepaid, since an empty account can block ordering.
- If you receive benefits, show your current notice to the provider at the start and again when it changes.
- If your income is low and you do not receive benefits, start the Jobcenter income check early, because you must advance the cost until the city approves.
- Check your fee and care contract for lunch charges in the school holidays. Our page on Kita fees covers the other fee rules.
Compliance Note
This page summarises information published by Stadt Köln and examples from school and provider pages as read in October 2026. Systems, prices and deadlines differ by school and provider and change from year to year. It is not legal or social-law advice. For your own case, contact the school, the OGS provider, the Amt für Soziales, Arbeit und Senioren or a counselling service.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Is there one system for paying school lunch in Cologne?
No source we found describes a single city-wide system. Stadt Köln tells families that the lunch is a separate cost and that you pay it to the provider of the institution. School and OGS pages we read show different systems: direct debit for an OGS provider, chips and an online portal at one Gymnasium, tokens or transfers at another school. The practical rule is to ask the school office or the OGS provider which system your school uses.
What does the OGS parent fee include?
The city's table of parent fees, valid since 1 August 2025, depends on household income: for example 0 euros up to a yearly income of 24,542 euros, 60 euros up to 36,813, 100 euros up to 61,355, 180 euros up to 100,000 and 234 euros above 160,000 euros a month. The city says the lunch is not included in this fee and must be paid to the provider, so check the Bildungspaket if you qualify.
What does OGS lunch cost?
It depends on the provider. One OGS primary school page lists 68 euros a month, due for all twelve months of the year. An OGS provider's pre-registration form for 2026/2027 states 888 euros a year, collected in twelve instalments of 74 euros by SEPA direct debit only, plus 15 euros per holiday week if you book holiday care. Those are examples, not city prices, so ask for yours.
How do canteen chips or tokens work at secondary school?
The Hansa-Gymnasium page shows a caterer using the actioPOS system: you register the child on the online portal, collect a chip at the canteen against a 3 euro deposit, and then order meals. Another school, the Kaiserin-Theophanu-Schule, sells tokens at a machine in the canteen building for a 5 euro lunch, or takes payment by transfer to the caterer with a required reference that includes the child's full name. Allow at least three working days until the transfer is booked and the tokens can be given out.
Why does the payment reference matter?
Because the caterer matches payments to children by it. The school page asks for a specific wording, 'KTS Token' plus the child's full name, and warns that it takes at least three working days to register a transfer. Copy the reference your school gives you, and do not shorten it.
Does the city pay for lunch if we have a low income?
Yes, under the Bildungspaket. The city says costs for the shared lunch in school, Kita and day care can be covered with no own share, for eligible children and teenagers up to 25. It only covers the lunch, not breakfast or snacks. Eligible are people on SGB II, SGB XII or asylum seeker benefits, Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag, and low earners.
What do I need to do to get lunch paid?
With SGB II, SGB XII or asylum seeker benefits you need not apply: you show your current benefit notice to the school, Kita or provider and your child is added to the billing list. With Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag you hand in a copy of the current notice. Low earners apply to the city after an income check by the Jobcenter, advance the cost, and are reimbursed with proof. An OGS provider's form we read says you must send your notice without being asked, together with a short application in February and August.
Is the Bürgergeld name still right?
In the law, the SGB II benefit has been called Grundsicherungsgeld since 1 July 2026, while the city and school pages we read still use Bürgergeld or SGB II. Show the notice you hold, whatever it is called. If a provider asks for a document by a name you do not recognise, ask which notice they mean.