Mapping study of the school food systems in 12 EU countries

The report has been developed as part of the SchoolFood4Change (SF4C) project, supported by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. This report presents the results of the project’s mapping study, which explored the existing school food systems, school food provision and procurement of food and catering services. Moreover, as part of the mapping study, the regions also identified barriers and opportunities to implementing sustainable and healthy school meals.

For data collection purposes, two surveys were conducted among the partners. The first survey was sent to the SF4C National Lead Partners, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. The second survey was sent to regional authorities in Vienna, Ghent, Leuven, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Viimsi, Budapest, Dordogne, Lyon, Essen, Nuremberg, Madrid, Milan, Nuoro, Valencia, Malmö and Umeå. Slovakian and Czech Republic responses covered their all municipalities.

The participating countries and regions are incredibly varied across all metrics, from land area and population to governance structures and procurement methods practised. Differences are evident both when comparing different municipalities but also when comparing schools within the municipalities.The situation in terms of the political framework regarding food, sustainability and public food procurement is quite fragmented.

Half of the studied countries have a food policy in place either on the national or regional levels (in Belgium and Germany). Dietary guidelines are adopted in the majority of the countries, except for the Czech Republic and Hungary, and sustainability requirements in food procurement are practised in slightly over half of the participating countries. However, the specifics of these are rather varied. In some countries, the requirements concern the share of organic food, while others seek specific quality labels.

Most schools in the studied municipalities provide at least lunch every day. In six out of 19 municipalities/regions, breakfast is also served in some schools. The latter is often, that is for an extra charge, not part of the cost of a regular school meal. In seven municipalities, some snacks are also served during the day. Also, in seven of the 19 regions analysed, three meals are offered in kindergartens, whereas in the rest provide only lunch or lunch and a snack.