School meal
A school meal is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world offer various kinds of school meal programs, and altogether, these are among the world's largest social safety nets. An estimated 380 million school children around the world receive meals at their respective schools. The extent of school feeding coverage varies from country to country, and as of 2020, the aggregate coverage rate worldwide is estimated to be 27%.
The objectives and benefits of school meals vary. In developing countries, school meals provide food security at times of crisis and help children to become healthy and productive adults, thus helping to break the cycle of poverty and hunger. They can address micronutrient deficiencies by serving diverse foods or including fortified foods. They also serve as an incentive to send children to school and continue their education, and they can be leveraged specifically to reduce barriers to schooling for girls. When school meals are targeted toward low-income or vulnerable children, they serve as a social safety net. Especially in developed countries, school meals are structured to encourage healthy eating habits. School meal programs can also be aimed at supporting the domestic or local agricultural sector.
History
The first school lunches were thought to be served in 1790 in Munich, Germany, by an American-born physicist, Benjamin Thompson, also known as Count Rumford. Thompson had spent his early days in New England, but as a royalist during the American Revolutionary War, he had become distrusted and left for England in 1784. In Munich, Thompson founded the Poor People's Institute which employed both adults and children to make uniforms for the German Army. They were fed and clothed for their work and the children were taught reading, writing and arithmetic. Years later, Thompson would feed 60,000 people a day from his soup kitchen in London.In the United Kingdom, significant changes have been made since school meals were introduced in the 19th century by Elizabeth Burgwin and others. The first National School Meals Policy was published across the United Kingdom in 1941. The Policy set the first nutritional guidelines for school lunches, requiring balanced meals which include the appropriate levels of protein, fat, and calories.
File:Vallilan kansakoulu, Hämeentie 80. Kouluruokailua ruokasalissa. - N917.jpg|thumb|Pupils eating school meals at the Vallila Folk School in Vallila, Helsinki, Finland
In the United States, there was a social inequality gap during the industrial era, and there was room for improvement in all realms of education. Philadelphia and Boston were the first two cities to institute school lunches in the U.S. Organizations such as Women's Education and the Starr Center Association began serving hot meals to students for a cost that was affordable for most. Soon after, teachers started to notice the benefits for students – both mentally and physically. The federal government was not involved until the Great Depression, when farmers and labors were not doing well financially and the school lunch program was a solution that benefited everyone.
In recent years, school districts have faced government or community pressure to change the foods served in schools. The addition of vegan school meal options and Meatless Mondays are examples of these changes.
Cost and subsidies
Free school meals can be universal school meals for all students or limited by income-based criteria, which can vary by country. A 2018 study of a free school meal program in the United States found that providing free meals to elementary and middle school children in areas characterized by high food insecurity led to better school discipline among the students. in England, 20.8% of the 8.9 million pupils attending schools in 2020–21 are known to be eligible for free school meals.Universal school meals
Free school meals available for all students are also called Universal school meals. Sweden, Finland, Estonia and India are among the few countries which provide universal school meals to all pupils in compulsory education, regardless of their ability to pay. In India, where all Government School students are provided with free lunches through the Midday Meal Scheme, staple foods are provided along with free education. Several states in the US offer universal school meals.Targeted school meals
School meals can also be targeted, often toward students who are poor or otherwise vulnerable. Such targeting can be geographic, school-based, or based on individual characteristics. Across different settings and school meal programs, many different approaches are used when targeting school meals.Reduced price meals
Reduced price meals are also available in some countries to those who need a degree of assistance with costs. Lower-cost meals are available to students in such countries as France, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, and the United States.Full price meals
In some programs, meals are made available for purchase in school cafeterias/canteens at full price. For example, in the United States, students who do not qualify for reduced price lunches can still purchase food at the full price. In the United Arab Emirates, all food in school cafeterias is available for purchase, though prices reflect only the cost of the food itself.Preparation
School meals can be cooked in a kitchen.School meals can also be uncooked, serving cold sandwiches or packaged biscuits. For example, the National School Nutrition Program in Egypt serves only Ma'amoul, a baked food item made with dates.
Africa
Nigeria
In April 2012, the State of Osun in Nigeria started a statewide school meals programme for all public elementary school pupils. It is called the O'Meals programme. As of July 2014, it was providing lunch to over 252,000 children in 100% of Osun's elementary schools. In addition to staples such as rice, beans, and yams served with stews, soups, and vegetables, the programme provides daily fruits. Its estimated cost is N50 per child per day.According to a report on O'Meals' benefits:
All food items are sourced locally from farmers and others on the supply chain, enhancing employment within the state. Addressing child malnutrition has raised students' academic performance, and has increased school enrollment by 24% compared to figures from before April 2012.
In 2015, the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress advocated for the adoption of a nationwide free meal plan. Since he became president, Muhammadu Buhari has made the implementation of this policy one of his foremost priorities. A national School Meals programme is the subject of a budgetary proposal before the National Assembly. Also, the government of Kaduna State has implemented a school feeding programme.
Americas
Canada
There are several non-profit organizations dedicated to student nutrition. In 2024, prime minister Justin Trudeau announced a national school food program.A 2021 study of school meal programs across Canada estimated that these programs are found in about 35% of JK–12 schools, with a minimum of 1,018,323 or 21% of students in the country receiving free breakfasts, lunches, and/or snacks. There is considerable diversity in the design of these programs across Canada's provinces and territories. Though non-profit entities implement these programs, governments contributed over Can$93 million in 2018/19.
United States
History
School lunches at the national level began as a temporary New Deal project in 1933. By 1935 it was run by the WPA in 1935–1942, as a way to employ the unemployed, feed hungry children, and reduce crop surpluses. It was ended in World War II when the WPA closed. In 1937 the WPA reported, "In the past year and a half 80,000,000 hot well-balanced meals have been served at the rate of 500,000 daily in 10,000 schools throughout the country."The permanent National School Lunch Program was created in 1946, with the National School Lunch Act. This legislation won rural support because it removed surplus food from the market and thus raised prices paid to farmers. Congress intended these meals to promote and protect child nutrition, while also supporting the consumption of American farm products.
Current status
Today, the National School Lunch Program is a federal nutrition assistance program operating in over 101,000 public schools, non-profit private schools, and residential care institutions. It is regulated and administered at the federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. The program provides "nutritionally balanced meals" at low or no cost to more than 31 million children each school day.Since its inception, the Program has expanded substantially. It now includes the School Breakfast Program, the Snack Program, a Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program. At the State level, the National School Lunch Program is usually administered by state education agencies, which operate the program through agreements with school food authorities.
School meal programs in the United States provide meals free of charge, or at a reduced price, to the children of low-income families. Those who do not qualify for free or reduced price are charged a nominal fee.
Contents and nutritional guidelines
School lunches must meet over the course of one week the applicable recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which were criticized for high sugar limits. These guidelines state that no more than 30 percent of an individual's calories should come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also state that school lunches must provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories.File:First Lady Michelle Obama has lunch with students.jpg|thumb|Former First Lady Michelle Obama with students in Virginia sampling healthy meals being introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture
Since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Michelle Obama has advocated for the importance of healthy school lunches. Schools were having difficulty enforcing nutrition values in fear of being wasteful because children are no longer eating their lunches. The amount of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and sodium levels were a political compromise. To avoid further conflict between the senate and the administration, the USDA has tolerated exemptions pertaining to the whole grain standard and allowed schools to do what they find necessary to finding a more fitting solution.
Vending machines in schools are also a major source of food for students. Under pressure from parents and anti-obesity advocates, many school districts moved to ban sodas, junk foods, and candy from vending machines and cafeterias. Various laws have also been passed to limit foods sold in school vending machines. With increasing concern over traditional vending machines in schools, healthier vending options have gained popularity and are steadily being adopted by schools around the nation. Marketing for such "healthy vending machines" states that they allow students to perform better in school while also attaining better health.