The EU-funded SchoolFood4Change project developed and works closely with the Whole School Food Approach framework, implemented it in 12 European countries. A recent article, “The Whole School Food Approach: A European framework and implementation to promote healthy and sustainable school food system”, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, outlines the main objective of the framework, the methodology behind its development and some key results and conclusions.
The Flemish Institute’s Health School Framework was a big inspiration for this approach, based on the four pillars of policy and leadership, food and sustainability, education and learning, and community and partnership. The approach seeks to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive health policy in Flemish schools. The WSFA framework improved on the Flemish matrix by developing a more pragmatic check-list based tool enabling schools to take concrete, integrated actions to offer healthy, sustainable food to pupils.
Self Assessment and Vision for sustainable School Food
As the paper notes, “WSFA criteria indicators work as self-assessment tools, where schools can assess their strengths and identify areas for improvement to reach a higher level of implementation (silver and gold). Bronze-level concrete indicators were designed to be as simple as possible to accommodate the wide diversity of school systems across Europe. Additional criteria allow schools to take further steps, tailoring their approach to their own vision, context, and level of ambition.” For example, within the pillar “policy and leadership” bronze-level criteria included having an internal school food working group and a school vision on food and nutrition. Similarly, the pillar “food and sustainability included complimentary water and promotion of fruits and vegetables intake as bronze level criteria.
The framework was tested and implemented by having each city within SchoolFood4Change recruit five schools in the first project year and an additional five in the second project year. Approaches in each city were tailored to the local context and cities were provided with a template outlining the expected implementation plans, outcomes, strategies and needs. During the pilot phase, the framework received mostly positive feedback, however many schools found the bronze-level criteria too ambitious. As a result “mandatory criteria that could not be met in some participating countries were reclassified as additional criteria (e.g., requiring official endorsement of the WSFA by school management) while others were simplified (e.g., increase healthy food availability at school instead of daily hot meals).”
Positive Impact and overcoming barriers
Upon implementation cities and schools found the framework to have good impact on the advancement of healthy and sustainable school food systems. An overview of concrete positive outcomes such as the School Canteen Days, can be found on the SchoolFood4Change website. However, city interviews also revealed that cities are faced with several barriers to city-wide implementation such as a lack of cross-departmental collaboration, and a shortage of time to implement it properly. The paper further notes that the cities surveyed “agreed that political and institutional support is essential to develop and implement a comprehensive school food policy. Both for cities and schools, peer-to-peer exchanges were valued for knowledge sharing, but participation remained a challenge. On the contrary, all interviewed cities acknowledged the WSFA framework as a valuable tool for fostering collaboration among municipal departments and engaging stakeholders, including caterers and civil society organisations.”
The study ultimately concludes that “the WSFA framework offers several key strengths. Its criteria are tailored for all age groups, from preschool to secondary education, and its structured and scalable design allows schools to adapt the framework to their specific contexts. Embedding a whole-school approach within a European project enables alignment of national, regional, and local efforts with transnational objectives, fostering shared knowledge, funding opportunities, and collaborative networks. Together, these features position the WSFA as a replicable and adaptable framework capable of promoting healthier and more sustainable school food environments across European cities.”