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The theme for this year’s International School Meals Day, “Innovation in School Meals: New Routes to Sustainable Nutrition”, provides an opportunity to reflect on the role of school food in tackling inequalities and promoting sustainable development. Researchers at SEI Tallinn are working to strengthen the policies related to these issues in Estonia and the EU.
Schools play a key role in providing and promoting healthy, sustainable food choices for students and their communities. Schools are also one of the few places where all children, regardless of their backgrounds, come together, and studies have shown that access to healthy and nutritious meals not only alleviates hunger, but also contributes to improved educational outcomes and overall development.
Developing a healthy and sustainable food culture in schools is also important for promoting climate resilience and sustainable development, as global food production contributes to climate change by emitting 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture also has a significant impact on water use and quality, and it stands as one of the foremost factors driving biodiversity loss and deforestation, exacerbating the sustainability crisis and necessitating cohesive interventions.
Through the SchoolFood4Change (SF4C) project, researchers at SEI Tallinn are working at the country level for change in Estonia, as well as contributing to EU-level activities to address part of this international issue.
Not every child can experience healthy eating habits at home. Often, vulnerable children from low-income or disadvantaged households are more likely to eat unhealthy food that lacks nutrition. This can strengthen existing inequalities since diet has a great impact on children and adolescents’ health, well-being and concentration.
Despite this knowledge, debates over school meal funding and policy priorities persist around the globe, highlighting the complex interplay between political decisions, public health and social welfare. Recent discussions have also been driven by activism related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For example, during the early Covid-19 pandemic, the well-known UK football player Marcus Rashford shared his personal story of relying on free school meals during his childhood and urged that all children should have access to nutritious meals. Rashford’s vocal campaigning resonated and played a key role in influencing policy decisions and securing continued support for free school meals in the UK.
At an international scale, initiatives such as the School Meals Coalition, supported by a secretariat hosted by the UN World Food Programme and with members across the globe, demonstrate that bringing together stakeholders and advocating for policy changes can set examples of effective strategies for enhancing school food programs beyond regional boundaries, ultimately working towards a healthier and more equitable future for children worldwide.
In the EU, policy surrounding school lunches has been inconsistent, and researchers at SEI Tallinn have been working together with partners to change this.
SEI Tallinn is a member of an innovative school food initiative, the SchoolFood4Change (SF4C) project, which aims to facilitate a broad shift to sustainable, healthy diets by directly impacting over 3,000 schools and 600,000 pupils in 12 EU countries. By bringing together elements of planetary and human health, SchoolFood4Change addresses two of our biggest challenges simultaneously.
The SchoolFood4Change (SF4C) project will provide innovative solutions and tailored, locally adaptable good practices for schools, school meal providers, responsible public authorities and policymakers, in line with the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. SF4C follows a holistic multi‐level approach based on the cumulated expertise of established European organizations and networks, sustainable food procurement and nutrition specialists, scientists, chefs and dietitians. This involves the development of innovative and sustainable food procurement, the promotion of Planetary Health Diets and cooking, and the introduction of the Whole School Food Approach (WSFA), a defined framework for municipalities and schools targeting the achievement of child‐friendly food culture and involving all related actors linked to the school environment.
More information: https://schoolfood4change.eu/
Within the SchoolFood4Change project, SEI Tallinn conducted a mapping study which was carried out in 12 countries and 19 municipalities in the EU and explored the existing school food systems, school food provision and procurement of food and catering services. The study shows that the political landscape concerning food, sustainability and public food procurement appears fragmented in the EU.
Approximately half of the countries examined have established food policies either at the national or regional levels. While all the studied countries have adopted dietary guidelines or nutritional requirements, sustainability requirements in food procurement are practiced in slightly over half of the participating countries, although the specifics vary considerably. Some countries focus on organic food, while others prioritize specific quality labels.
In most of the studied municipalities, schools offer lunch daily, with six out of 19 municipalities/regions also providing breakfast in selected schools. However, breakfast is often not included in the regular school meal cost and is offered separately for an additional fee. School food prices vary significantly from around one to eight euros. In most cases, school food cost is subsidized fully for everyone, or at least for low-income groups.
The recent policy brief produced by SchoolFood4Change, released in light of the upcoming review of the European Union School Scheme scheduled for the end of this month, suggests that stronger and well-integrated policies are needed to unleash the true potential of healthy, sustainable school food in the EU. The recommendations outline the need for at least one healthy and sustainable school meal daily and better integration of EU policies that would affect school meals and food education.
These policy recommendations are, in part, based on the SF4C Whole School Food Approach (WSFA), which acts as a framework to encourage innovation and improvement in school nutrition, while fostering a healthy, sustainable food culture in schools.
The recommendations are as follows:
The efforts to address inequalities through access to healthy and sustainable school food are critical for promoting social inclusion, combating child poverty, and improving overall well-being. Despite the pressing need and potential benefits, existing EU policies lack integration and cohesion across various sectors, hindering the full realization of these initiatives. The SchoolFood4Change project offers innovative solutions and fosters a holistic approach to school food, which could serve as a model for other regions dealing with similar challenges.
Project / This project aims to shift the paradigm of school food and school catering and to improve the regional, social and environmental resilience of the food system.
Other publication / This report is presenting the results of the mapping study of existing school food systems in 12 EU countries.
Feature / Fifteen Estonian schools are participating in the SchoolFood4Change project, aiming to instil healthy and sustainable eating habits in students.
Perspective / Trase’s co-directors write about the benefits and limitations of Trase data in assisting companies and governments in their efforts to implement the EUDR.
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