Project

WHOLE SCHOOL FOOD APPROACH

LET’S TAKE A HOLISTIC APPROACH! 

The Whole School Food Approach (WSFA) is a holistic concept that offers pupils healthier and sustainable food  choices in the long term. It’s not just about what food they are served in schools, but also about where the food comes from and how production impacts our environment and our health. Putting the WSFA into practice requires teamwork from school staff, cooks, schoolchildren and all other stakeholders. 

Do you want to join the team? Click here to download the latest Whole School Food Approach Guidelines for schools, cities and regions >>>  

ADD THE INGREDIENTS ‘FOOD’ AND ‘EDUCATION’ AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS! 

In practice, there is no easy recipe for transitioning to sustainable school food systems by integrating sustainable food and education. The WSFA guides agents of change every step along the way and helps bring about a community-wide systemic shift by addressing the composition of school meals and school cafeterias as learning environments.

The WSFA guidelines, newly developed in the SF4C project, describe every pillar in detail. They also include possible starting points, implementation measures, stakeholder roles and evaluation criteria. This framework helps schools facilitate the transition by providing information on practical teaching methods, learning activities and the active participation of pupils and teachers. The aim is to link and involve everyone along the entire chain with a new vision of sustainable school meals.   

SCHOOLS AS CATALYSTS FOR TRANSITIONING TO SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL FOOD SYSTEMS

 The WSFA invites school meal providers, city officials, producers, farmers, parents, and pupils to sit together at one table. This makes it possible for everyone to understand where the food comes from, what it does to their bodies and how it impacts the climate and environment.   

 The approach also brings the classroom to the field (or the farmer to the classroom) through farm to school twinning initiatives. This gives children the opportunity to experience the complete growing cycle of their food, while farmers and producers get a chance to connect directly with the youngest consumers.