Sustainability Recommendations and Practices in School Feeding: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Considering the importance of schools for sustainable food offers and the formation of conscientious citizens on sustainability, this systematic review aimed to verify the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools. The research question that guided this study is “what are the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools?”. This systematic review was prepared according to PRISMA, and its checklist was registered in PROSPERO. Specific search strategies for Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, Lilacs, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global were developed. The included studies’ methodological quality was evaluated using the Meta-Analysis Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument (MASTARI). A total of 134 studies were selected for a full reading. Of these, 50 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. Several sustainability practices were described. The most cited are school gardens and education activities for sustainability. However, actions carried out in food services were also mentioned, from the planning of menus and the purchase of raw materials (mainly local and organic foods, vegetarian/vegan menus) to the distribution of meals (reduction of organic and inorganic waste: composting, recycling, donating food, and portion sizes). Recommendations for purchasing sustainable food (organic, local, and seasonal), nutrition education focused on sustainability, and reducing food waste were frequent; this reinforces the need to stimulate managers’ view, in their most varied spheres, for the priority that should be given to this theme, so that education for sustainability is universally part of the curricula. The importance of education in enabling individuals to promote sustainable development is reaffirmed in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). The development of assessment instruments can help monitor the evolution of sustainable strategies at schools and the main barriers and potentialities related to their implementation.

A clustering approach to analyse the environmental and energetic impacts of Atlantic recipes - A Galician gastronomy case study

“…On the other hand, school meals can also help students, their families, and the broader community by offering nutritional education experiences. The recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools have been widely addressed in the scientific literature (Dos Santos et al, 2022;Eustachio-Colombo et al, 2020). Moreover, food provides a useful vehicle for teaching cultural issues to school children.…”

Health and Sustainable Nutritional Choices from Childhood: Dietary Pattern and Social Models

“…Beyond the importance of the construction of a sustainable plate, a recent systematic review has summarized and pointed out all the principle feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools and reported in the literature [43]. Specifically, 16 governmental and nongovernmental programs were identified.…”

Challenging the Status Quo to Shape Food Systems Transformation from a Nutritional and Food Security Perspective

“…In this context, attitude and knowledge of health, food, and nutrition can be one of the keys to facing food insecurity in several countries. Health and nutritional education are imperative to fight malnutrition [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Knowledge in these aspects is essential in tackling misinformation and promoting good food choices.…”

“…Knowledge in these aspects is essential in tackling misinformation and promoting good food choices. Since birth, it can be constructed along life using households, schools, the internet, and other channels to allow learning on food, health, and nutrition and stimulate adequate food choices [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Adequate and healthy diets imply choosing and consuming balanced and adequate foods on nutrients and amount, variety, and sustainable aspects. Therefore, achieving the main social, economic, environmental, cultural, and security goals [ 1 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Food production must also be alert to the waste produced in the food chain related to environmental pollution and food waste that could be used to feed food-insecure people [ 10 , 15 , 17 ].…”