Good food at school for every child goes beyond country borders. As part of SchoolFood4Change, Rikolto developed the Whole School Food Approach (WSFA), an integrated approach to make good food in every school a reality. To get as many partners as possible on board, we travelled across Europe to support cities in implementing this WSFA and to exchange good practices.
The SchoolFood4Change project aims to transform school food systems across Europe to ensure that all children have access to healthy and sustainable meals. Through partnerships with various stakeholders, including governments, schools, NGOs, and food suppliers, the project seeks to implement innovative strategies and best practices for improving school food environments. One of these strategies? The so-called ‘Whole School Food Approach’ (WSFA) developed by Rikolto, a Belgian-based NGO striving for sustainable food systems for all.
In the past few months, SF4C partners travelled to Nitra (Slovakia), Milan (Italy) and Umeå (Sweden) to exchange experiences with the WSFA, gather inspirations and share good practices.
WSFA in Slovakian cities
In Slovakia, the main focus was put on supporting the local community in implementing the WSFA by developing a step-by-step guideline. Together with local partners, a roadmap was developed to effectively integrate this approach into the education system. In addition to that, it was absolutely wonderful to meet again with Skutočne zdravá škola, a Slovakian NGO who helped develop the WSFA. Today, they are working on involving both schools and cities in the SF4C project.
Immediately partners got to see their approach put into practice by visiting the first school to win bronze for implementing the WSFA. Definitely a huge motivation boost to continue working on good food at school for every child.
Tasty school meals in Italy
Next stop? Milan! The first point on the agenda was an interesting presentation on the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. All participants exchanged both knowledge and views on food policy and sustainability and had the opportunity to taste a typical school meal prepared by Milano Ristorazione. The day was rounded off with an engaging workshop where all cities presented their educational projects and visited a local farm.
God Morgon from Sweden!
At last, SF4C partners arrived in Umeå, where the circle of participants was further expanded with partners from Finland, Germany, Spain and Austria. Here, the WSFA was once again the main focus, with special attention to educational programs and gender-aspects of food consumption. By visiting local schools, participating in different workshops and tasting a wonderful lunch from a local school canteen, participants were able to gain new ideas and enrich their knowledge.
Back home again with a backpack full of knowledge and inspiration to continue working together to promote healthy eating in schools. Through international collaborations like these, all SchoolFood4Change-partners remain committed to a healthy future for all children, both inside and outside classrooms. It is absolutely fantastic to see the various schools and cities taking the necessary steps to make good food at school a reality. It may be hard work, but the progress over the years has been enormous! We have a bright future ahead!
