Equal school meals for all - differentiation of school meals according to school social index
Cordula Hundeshagen, Heike Rosmann

TL;DR
This study examines whether school meals in Germany meet health and sustainability standards and if they are equally accessible to all students regardless of socioeconomic status.
Contribution
The study evaluates the impact of mandatory versus voluntary implementation of school food standards on meal quality and equity.
Findings
Mandatory implementation of the School Food Standard (OSFS) resulted in healthier and more sustainable school meals.
School social index had no significant influence on menu quality.
OSFS menus included more organic and seasonal ingredients but lacked nutritional information and clear meal descriptions.
Abstract
The EU is discussing providing all children healthy food at least once a day through school lunch. In Germany, a School Food Standard (SFS) aims to ensure healthy and sustainable meals, however its implementation is mandatory in only some federal states, while voluntary in others. To address social disadvantages, some states use school social indices to allocate additional funding to disadvantaged schools. This study analyzes German school menus to assess their compliance with SFS requirements under both voluntary and mandatory implementation and examines whether healthy, sustainable lunches are accessible regardless of schools' socioeconomic status. Exploratory school meal analysis. A random sample of schools was selected based on the school register and social index, and schools were invited to participate voluntarily. Menus from a state with obligatory (OSFS) and voluntary (VSFS)…
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Taxonomy
TopicsObesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
