Councils want power to restrict fast food around schools
The growth in fast-food outlets is fuelling debate about local rules for children’s food environment.
Councils want more scope to restrict new fast-food outlets near schools. Statistics from CBS show that the number of fast-food outlets in the Netherlands has grown by 88 per cent since 2007.
At the start of 2026, the Netherlands had around 19,400 fast-food outlets, CBS reports. These include snack bars, sandwich shops, food stalls and ice-cream parlours. In 2007, there were around 10,300. Fast-food outlets now account for a larger share of food establishments than restaurants.
The growth is not evenly distributed. CBS records the highest density in tourist areas and along the coast. The four major cities also have many fast-food outlets. The statistics alone do not show how many outlets are directly next to a school.
The debate is therefore not only about numbers, but about the possibility of steering the local living environment. The cabinet previously announced that it wanted to give councils the power to keep new providers of predominantly unhealthy food out of certain locations, for example around schools or in neighbourhoods with a large supply.
An RIVM briefing note states that the Netherlands still has no national legal basis allowing councils to regulate the establishment or concentration of food outlets structurally on health grounds. The institute does describe research showing that neighbourhoods with more fast food also have higher levels of overweight on average.
That correlation does not prove that the presence of fast food is directly causing overweight. Residents, incomes, spatial planning and other factors may all play a role at the same time. RIVM does regard the food environment as one element of prevention policy.
For schools, direct responsibility lies mainly with their own canteen and nutrition policy. Councils look at spatial planning and permits. Business owners point out that a new distance rule would not automatically lead to existing outlets disappearing and would need to be legally well defined.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The number of fast-food outlets has grown sharply.
- Councils want new ways to influence the food environment.
- The relationship between the availability of fast food and overweight is a correlation, not automatic causal evidence.
Left
Arguments Children should not be surrounded every day by commercial inducements to eat unhealthy food. Councils should be able to intervene in vulnerable neighbourhoods and around schools where individual freedom of choice offers insufficient protection.
Values Public health, equality of opportunity and prevention.
Consequences Stricter rules could reduce health inequalities, but would limit the scope for businesses and consumers.
Centre
Arguments Local rules can be useful, provided they target demonstrable problems, respect existing businesses and are combined with healthy school canteens and information campaigns.
Values Proportionality, evidence and local tailoring.
Consequences A step-by-step approach avoids legal disputes, but would probably change the food environment slowly.
Right
Arguments Parents and young people should be free to choose what they eat. The government should be cautious about location bans and focus mainly on providing good information and a level playing field for businesses.
Values Personal responsibility, freedom of choice and enterprise.
Consequences Less regulation avoids restrictions on the hospitality industry, but leaves the commercial food environment largely untouched.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The figures and policy context are based on CBS, RIVM and Rijksoverheid. The text avoids the unconfirmed claim that a certain percentage of schools are actually surrounded by fast-food outlets.
- confirmed At the start of 2026, the Netherlands had around 19,400 fast-food outlets. — CBS figure. source
- confirmed The number of fast-food outlets increased by 88 per cent since 2007. — CBS figure. source
- confirmed The Netherlands still has no national legal basis for the structural regulation of fast-food outlets on health grounds. — Conclusion from the RIVM briefing note. source
- confirmed Neighbourhoods with more fast-food outlets have higher levels of overweight on average. — RIVM describes this correlation and warns that it is not direct causal evidence. source
Editor's note
The growth in the number of fast-food outlets and the policy debate have been confirmed. No nationwide count of fast-food outlets within a specified distance of schools was found in the public sources used.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „fastfood scholen”
- NOS — „fastfood scholen”
- Het Parool — „fastfood scholen”