The school meals programme in Milan aims to provide each school day an educational meal (good, healthy and sustainable) to all children in the public schools in order to develop good food habits and sustainable lifestyles for their lifespan. Via the design of sustainable and healthy meals, the city strives to ensure concrete transformative changes towards a more sustainable urban food system. The goal of the service is to satisfy the needs of all its users, as well as to promote the food policy guidelines related to healthy and sustainable diets, among other stakeholders such as families, teachers, suppliers, and the broader Milanese community. Integral to this vision are food and nutritional security, food quality, the environment, health and safety in the workplace, transparency, and sustainability.
The objectives of this case study include presenting an introduction to the city profile, outlining the design and implementation of school feeding programmes, describing their monitoring and evaluation processes, and highlighting lessons learned, best practices, and challenges.
This report highlights the role of school meals in promoting sustainable food systems within urban food policies. It showcases how school meals address food security, health, and environmental sustainability. It includes case studies from various cities and discusses the challenges and benefits of different school meal programs, including their role in education, social equity, and food system transformation.
