March 10th is international school meals day: let’s make it fair.
Brussels, March 10th, 2022
The Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) has further developed its alliances to transform our food system towards diets that are fair and healthy for both humans and the planet. To reach this aim, the EU-funded project SchoolFood4Change (SF4C) engages 3,000 schools, including Fair Trade Schools, as catalysts for food system transformation, impacting 600,000 young people through 16 cities and regional governments across 12 European countries and radiating into society at large. SchoolFood4Change is coordinated by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and brings all relevant school food actors to one table: from students, parents and teachers, farmers, chefs and canteen staff to experts on sustainable food consumption patterns.
The FTAO will bring to the project the experience of the Fair Trade Movement, in particular Fair Trade Schools, Universities and Towns. The purpose is to make our food system fairer through public procurement and the active engagement of citizens, including the youth through sustainable food consumption patterns. It will also bring its expertise on public policies and accompanying measures that lead to a better distribution of value throughout global food supply chains, as well as the voice of small farmers and workers in the Global South in the project.
At the heart of SchoolFood4Change lies a triple action approach of innovative sustainable food procurement, the promotion of planetary health diets and cooking, as well as the Whole School Food Approach (WSFA).
Innovative sustainable food procurement is an effective and strategic tool for change as it helps fulfil the state’s duty of care, particularly concerning vulnerable groups such as children and students. The project will provide locally adaptable procurement solutions that have the power to make healthy, fair, and sustainable meals available in all schools in Europe, leaving no child behind.
Over 10,000 cooks and canteen staff will be trained in Planetary Health Diets according to the recommendations of the EAT Lancet commission empowering them to cook school meals that are delicious and sustainable, both for students and the planet.
The Whole School Food Approach holistically engages the entire school community to develop healthy and sustainable eating activities. For students, it includes food education, gardening, preserving, and cooking food together as well as school-farm twinning. The WSFA also involves other actors from farm to fork, such as farmers, cooks, and local businesses. Its impact radiates into society at large, touching over two million EU citizens.
For further information and enquiries:
Spokesperson ICLEI:
Amalia Ochoa, SchoolFood4Change Project Coordinator
Telephone +49-(0)761-368920
Email amalia.ochoa@iclei.org
The SchoolFood4Change project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101036763.
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