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.

It is time: free meals at schools for all

“…A systematic review verified the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and practices adopted in schools and found that recommendations for purchasing sustainable food (organic, local and seasonal), nutrition education focused on sustainability and food waste reduction were frequent (23) . The relationship between sustainability and the SFP also occurs at the decision level at all stages of meal production, including menus.…”

“…Thus, sustainable SFP development is possible, regardless of the size of the state or country. The mandatory purchase of family farming or a popular and solidarity economy through laws is a strategy that not only supports family farming by connecting farmers with a secured market with pre-negotiated prices but also increases the amount of local and fresh products available in school menus (23) . Different Latin American countries, such as Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras, have included the obligation to buy food locally in their SFP, encouraging family farmers and the poor and vulnerable sectors of the population (24) .…”