School food provision in England: A historical journey

School food hero and the battle of the food foes: A story of public health policy, power imbalance and potential

This paper explores the impact of school food policy from the perspective of school food workers to offer an alternative account of why school food may not be having the desired impact on child health or food choices. Drawing upon the findings from an institutional ethnography carried out in three UK primary schools, we argue that school food is being asked to perform an unrealistic task of luring children and families away from more unhealthy food options, without being given adequate resources or powers to do this job effectively. We theorise that the narrative depicting school food as a hero, combatting the harms of poor dietary choices and poor health outcomes, is inappropriate as a countermeasure to mitigate the effects of wider food industry forces. We revisit the narrative to consider the power imbalances within society that structure dietary choices, presenting our findings and the wider policy review in the form of a story about the evolution of school food set against a shifting food environment. We conclude with recommendations for policy makers who want to see school food have a greater impact in improving child health.

The Assessment of School Lunches in the Form of Food Packs during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia

During the pandemic, Latvian schools switched to remote learning which required looking for solutions to provide state-funded school lunches for pupils at home. The aim of study was to analyse the type of support received by pupils for provision of school lunches, the compliance of the composition of food packs with Latvian healthy diet recommendations and parental assessment of the food packs received. With the help of the questionnaire data on the composition of food packs, parental assessment was obtained by interviewing 1495 parents of pupils in grades 1–4 (age 6–11 years). The composition of food packs was evaluated in accordance with the recommendations for a healthy diet. Food packs were the main choice for the provision of school lunches in all regions (90.70%). The emphasis in the food packs was on protein-rich products like canned meat and meat products (93.36%) and milk (91.37%). 81.71% of food packs contained both vegetables and fruits. Food packs covered basic needs but improvements would be needed. The parents appreciated the support received, 90% of them rated it as positive/partially positive. In the event of a pandemic recurrence, the state would need to work with food producers to provide smaller packaging of products for food packs to ensure food diversity.

'Pizza every day - why?': A survey to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 guidelines on secondary school food provision in the UK

The nutritional requirements of adolescence and the reported poor UK eating behaviours of young people are a significant public health concern. Schools are recognised as an effective 'place' setting to enable improvement to nutrition outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in UK school closures from March 2020. In re-opening in September 2020, schools were required to meet guidelines to ensure the minimised impact of COVID-19 on the population (DfE 2020). We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 school guidelines on secondary and post-16 (16-18 years) food provision. An online survey was posted on 8th October to 1st December 2020, targeted at young people, parents and staff of secondary/post-16 education establishments in the UK. Two hundred and fifty-two responses were received, of which 91% reported a change in their school food provision, 77% reported time for lunch was shortened and 44% indicated the provision was perceived as less healthy during September 2020 (post-lockdown school return) compared with March 2020 (pre-lockdown). Analyses demonstrated that time, limited choice and healthiness impacted negatively upon young people's school food experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a huge challenge to the delivery of healthy school food to young people. Therefore, schools require more support in following national food standards and incorporating nutrition education and behaviour change strategies within current guidelines.

The impact of, and views on, school food intervention and policy in young people aged 11-18 years in Europe: A mixed methods systematic review

Understanding the social and environmental influencers of eating behaviours has the potential to improve health outcomes for young people. This review aims to explore the effectiveness of school nutrition interventions and the perceptions of young people experiencing a nutrition focused intervention or change in school food policy. A comprehensive systematic search identified studies published between 1 December 2007 to 20 February 2020. Twenty-seven studies were included: 22 quantitative studies of nutrition related outcomes and five qualitative studies reporting views and perceptions of young people (combined sample of 22,138 participants, mean ages 12-18 years). The primary outcome was nutrition knowledge/dietary behaviours, with secondary outcomes exploring body mass index (BMI) and wellbeing. Due to the heterogeneity of studies, a narrative results description is presented. The findings demonstrate that school nutrition programmes can be effective in reducing sugar, sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) and saturated fat and increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. The lived experiences of young people in a school context provide valuable insights that should be considered in the development of effective school food policy and interventions. This review affirms the significant role that schools can play in supporting good nutrition in all young people and provides opportunities to inform the school food agenda.

Association between Nutrition Policies and Student Body Mass Index

In response to concerns about childhood obesity, many US states have implemented policies to limit the sale of unhealthy foods and beverages (e.g., snacks, desserts, and sugary drinks) sold in competition with school meal programs (i.e., competitive foods) in order to improve the nutritional environment of schools and support student health. This study measured state-level competitive food and beverage policies that require foods and beverages sold in à la carte lines, vending machines, and school stores to meet strong nutrition standards and tested the hypothesis that students living in states with stronger laws would have lower body mass index (BMI)-for-age percentiles. BMI data from a national sample of 1625 students attending 284 schools from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study were linked to state laws coded as part of the National Wellness Policy Study. A survey-adjusted linear regression model accounting for student and school-level characteristics showed that stronger state nutrition policies were associated with lower student BMI scores (coefficient: -0.06, 95% CI: -0.12, -0.00). Additional models indicated that stronger state policies were significantly associated with fewer unhealthy foods and beverages available in schools. These findings suggest that strong regulations on competitive foods and beverages may lead to improvements in the nutritional quality of the school environment and student BMI. Thus, current federal standards regulating snacks in US schools (i.e., Smart Snacks) are an important element of a comprehensive strategy to improve the school nutrition environment and reduce rates of childhood obesity.