The third SchoolFood4Change General Assembly and Consortium Meeting took place in Prague from October 9-11, 2024. It was hosted by the partner organizations Skutečně zdravá škola and ICLEI Europe in the historic Prague City Hall. The event featured two full days of inspiring sessions and insightful school visits, bringing together 80 representatives from project partners and replication cities.
The Czech Republic’s school food system
The event was opened by Eliška Selinger from the National Institute of Public Health, who presented the ongoing reform of the Czech school meal system.
The country has 8,556 canteens preparing 383 million meals annually for 2 million children. School meals served in the Czech Republic must fulfil certain criteria: They must be attractive in appearance, taste, and aroma; nutritionally balanced; equitable, and sustainable, with a focus on organic, seasonal and plant-based options. All children must be provided with access to food of high quality.
Seizing the moment to learn from each other
With the aim of inspiring each other, learning from each other, and also helping each other by sharing knowledge, impressive and impactful stories were shared by various SchoolFood4Change cities during the get-together:
The Municipality of Nuoro (Italy) reported on the successful organization of a so-called market dialogue, bringing together local and regional stakeholders and policymakers to talk about school meals and food education.
The City of Nuremberg (Germany) highlighted the “Healthy Plates and Bright Minds” initiative for advancing a school food policy at city level.
In the Region of Valencia (Spain), around 1,000 schools and preschools have joined the SchoolFood4Change pathway, and are investing time, effort, and commitment in implementing the Whole School Food Approach every day. During the past year, the Belgian City of Leuven focused on preparing and promoting a new food strategy and the role of sustainable catering companies that prioritize sustainability. The City of Essen‘s Canteen Day (Germany), co-organized with the local Food Policy Council and several NGOs, was a great success (read more here) and serves as an inspiration for other project partners who plan to organize such themed days in 2025.
The City of Milan managed to start implementing the Whole School Food Approach and Farm-to-School Twinnings (where schools organize visits to farms for pupils) for 15 schools and two urban farms. During the second training for school canteen chefs, organized by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (Italy) (read more here), the important and evolving role of cooks and their vision for school canteens was again highlighted.
Cooks from 18 European cities shared their experiences, emphasizing the importance of taste education and food literacy in school canteens.
Taking a peek at other people’s plates
Charlotte Long from Food for Life (UK) shared insights on implementing the “Whole School Approach to Food”, which currently reaches 250,000 children across 600 schools across the UK. As a main result, pupils in schools partnering with Food for Life are twice as likely to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables daily compared to those in other schools. The Food for Life success story, which is supported by the Soil Association, serves as a role model for SchoolFood4Change and shows that change is possible if we all pull together.
Into the school!
On the final day of the event, participants enjoyed the opportunity to visit Mateřská škola Semínko, a kindergarten at the Environmental Educational Centre Toulcův dvůr, which focuses on environmental and ecological education. The children spend a lot of their time outdoors, engaging with nature, animals, and the surrounding environment. The kindergarten serves organic food.
The second visit was to Fakultní základní škola profesora Otokara Chlupa, where the participants enjoyed lunch in the school canteen and met children who proudly presented their projects on school gardens, canteen days, and food waste management.
Both visits left a powerful impression on all project members and reminded us all why we do this work!