PROOF OF CONCEPT

Impact on policy through scientific insights and practice-based experience

Beverage List – Refreshing Scientific Insights & Policy Asks

How the development of evidence through scientific studies, impact assessment and the implementation of good practices can influence policy.

Drinks

This beverage list is a guide to the scientific studies that have been carried out and the initiatives that have been taken to influence policy. What is your favourite drink?

Who can implement or Influence?

Meet your sustainability goals

School meals are more climate friendly

School meals support sustainable food production

School meals are tastier, more nutritious and in season

School meals strengthen small farmers and vulnerable groups

School meals reduce food poverty and inequality

School meals are part of food education

Aperitif

Describing the approach

As a research and innovation funded project our aim is to find out what approaches and activities will be the most effective ways to change the school meal systems in Europe. New tools and innovative ways of working have been developed, tested and evaluated by partners. The lessons learned have led to reworking of the tools – a truly iterative process.

The new knowledge acquired in in the project has resulted in scientific articles and policy recommendations on local, national and international levels.

Jump directly to Policy Infusions

Sparkling scientific insights

Researchers and practitioners review the project

Cross cutting studies

This study of school food systems offers different intervention opportunities to improve the health and nutritional status of children and adolescents, especially for the most vulnerable. First, interventions should include a wide range of intersectoral policies and actions comprehensively implemented in concert to achieve highest impact. Second, education and health policies need to be advocate for the relevant issue of healthy food affordability. Finally, engagement and accountability of both public and private sectors are needed. School settings offer a clear opportunity for sustainable, healthy and equitable food system change including the development of innovative and sustainable food procurement criteria, the promotion of planetary healthy diets and cooking, and the use of a whole school food approach for schools to become integrative learning platforms.

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In this article, the experience of healthy and sustainable nursery school food systems in the city of Madrid is described. The article highlights two important achievements within nursery schools: First, the development and implementation of health and environmental standards in public food procurement practices. Second, the establishment of collaborative Food Steering Groups between the Madrid Council childhood education department and civil society. Madrid’s experience might be of interest to other cities.

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This study aims to provide a comparative overview of school food provision models in 17 cities across 12 European countries. It explores the operational, infrastructural, and financial dimensions of these models, identifying key trade-offs, challenges and opportunities for promoting healthy and sustainable school food environments.

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This report – prepared by the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, an initiative of School Meals Coalition – sets out how school meals can help build a food system fit for the 21st century. New modelling work presented in this report shows that cultivating healthy and sustainable dietary habits is one of the best investments we can make for tomorrow.

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Whole School Food Approach

The findings of this scientific investigation reveal a diverse implementation of the framework in participating European countries. Despite challenges, the WSFA was perceived as a valuable tool for developing healthy and sustainable school food systems. Political and institutional support was reported as the main facilitator for promoting school food policies.

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Planetary health diets and cooking

This study evaluated whether SF4C recipes could achieve sensory acceptance, elicit positive emotional responses among children, and consequently reduce food waste in school canteens. Overall, the results of this study underscore the importance of culturally tailored strategies to improve the sensory liking and positive emotions towards sustainable school meals, promoting healthier dietary patterns while contributing to environmental sustainability by reducing food waste.

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Policy Infusions

A rich blend of strategies and legislative flavours that infuse school food systems with lasting change

Fact sheets

Driving change through national policy dialogues & stakeholder mapping
Does your organisation want to gather national stakeholders to influence policy?
In this fact sheet you can get inspiration on how.

How to do Effective Advocacy for Healthy, Sustainable School Food at EU level
Get a quick overview of the important steps to reach effective advocacy for healthy, sustainable school food at EU level.

The policy briefs

Tackling inequality through healthy and sustainable school food.
The focus for this policy brief is three:

1. Support EU member states in the provision of…

at least one healthy and sustainable school meal daily, accessible to all children (0 – 18 years), aligning with the EU San Sebastian Declaration on School Meals and drawing from the principles of the EU Child Guarantee.

2. Provide an enabling framework for…

the implementation of a Whole School Food Approach (WSFA) in all schools across Europe.

3. Enhance the integration and alignment of…

international conventions and EU policies affecting school food, the right to healthy sustainable food and food education, and thereby fostering collaboration and coherence for a common approach.

Target groups: Policy makers (EU); civil society organisations

Strengthening food security via food production environments
in and around cities through:

1. Planning for food environments that are healthy, sustainable, and attractive.

2. Stimulation of sustainable food production and consumption.

3. Work with Food Policy Councils (FPCs) to establish multi-level governance and collaboration

Target groups: Policy makers (local & national); civil society organisations; city administrators/procurers; catering services/business; educators/principals/staff

School food procurement as a lever for economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and public health
Key messages from SF4C are:

1. The future of procurement policy lies in…

reinforcing public procurement’s role as a lever for economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and public health.

2. Transition from voluntary sustainability criteria to…

legally binding ones, ensuring that the public food procurement budget aligns with the public interest.

3. Support market engagement, innovative…

procurement practices and invest in monitoring and evaluating procurement processes.

4. Scale up proven and effective (local) models, where…

successful experiences demonstrate that systemic change is possible through strategic procurement, supplier engagement, and the right regulatory frameworks at the local and EU levels. These models should be rolled out further and transformed into structural policies.

Strengthening food security via food production environments
Building food system resilience through healthy and sustainable school meals

Recommendations for a European framework enabling healthy school meals for public health and food system resilience:

1. Strengthen EU governance for school meals

2. Mainstream the triple approach for resilient school food systems.

3. Prioritise strategic investment in resilient school meal systems

Policy Recommendations on How to Reduce the Distance Between Demand and Supply of Organic Food in Public Food Procurement

SF4C recommendations for strategic public procurement
policy frameworks are:

1. Setting ambitious targets…

formalising targets for organic food procurement (e.g., 40% organic by mass/volume/value) and sourcing from small farmers.

2.Tailored tendering…

designing tenders that explicitly integrate criteria for organic and fresh seasonal foods, including social and environmental aspects.

3. Contract lotting…

policy requiring the division of contracts into smaller lots to encourage participation from SMEs and local producers.

4. Transparency...

mandating the publication of forward procurement plans to allow suppliers to prepare

5. Market dialogue…

Engage with the market ahead of issuing a new tender to get a better understanding of the supply side, in this case, the market readiness to deliver higher shares of organic.

School meals as a policy area with huge potential

SchoolFood4Change calls for the prioritisation of three interconnected and decisive action areas when reviewing and developing the European Green Deal legislation and any upcoming policy processes relating to sustainable food systems:

1. Implement and standardise food education.

2. Enable schools to provide sustainable food and food environments for the well-being of people and our planet.

3. Use the power of sustainable public food procurement.

Target groups: Policy makers (EU, local & national); city administrators/procurers; catering services/business

Evidence on Tap

The key performance indicators and results crosscutting the approaches