Children across Europe must receive at least one nutritious dinner a day if governments are to tackle rising obesity rates, prevent chronic diseases and reduce social inequality, a coalition of experts says.
Almost a third of primary school-age children in Europe are overweight or obese, while almost a quarter of children in the European Union are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
With the cost of living crisis pushing many families across the continent to the brink, members of a four-year EU-funded initiative focused on healthy eating say urgent action is needed to ensure all European children They can count on a healthy diet. . lunch . Food every day.
Peter DeFranceschi, a member of the SchoolFood4Change project, says: "I think if you say that all children should eat a healthy school meal every day, whether they are rich, poor, disadvantaged or whatever, that is a minimum standard." This will be of great importance in Europe.
"It's not left or right, liberal or green, it's really smart."
The experts, who say that school meals can be a "catalyst for systemic change at a broader societal level", work with more than 3,000 schools and 600,000 pupils in 16 cities and regions in 12 EU countries.
The panorama differs greatly on the continent. While countries such as Finland, Estonia and Sweden guarantee free meals for children, others such as Norway and the Netherlands have traditionally provided little or none. Experts want free meals to be available for all poor children, who are more likely to skip breakfast.
"Food prices in Ukraine have increased even more, so there has been food price inflation and some parents are unable to buy adequate food for their children or pay for school meals," said DeFranceschi, who also heads Global CityFood. Local Government Network Program in Sustainable Development (ICLEI).
"In addition, many children go to school without eating breakfast; if the school does not provide them with food, they sometimes sit around without eating properly, making it difficult for them to concentrate.
Manuel Franco, a professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Alcalá in Madrid and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, who is one of the project's advisors, said countries should stop treating healthy school meals as a cost. and instead consider him. as a vital tool to address future health crises and reduce social inequality.
"The effects of an unhealthy, poor-quality diet can be seen in children and adolescents, often in disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations, and is a long-term problem for our overall health and well-being," he said.
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“We know that in the long term adults who eat poorly will develop more diseases such as diabetes and cancer. We need to flip a coin and see that investing 7 euros a day for each child and adolescent in our society is money we are investing. "This is not an expense."
In almost every country, children living in low-income areas eat better than their wealthier peers, Franco said. They also suffer from food insecurity because their parents often do not have enough money to provide them with healthy, nutritious food on a daily basis.
"In this context, allowing children aged 1 to 18 years to eat at least one meal a day in a school or educational center would be a good public health tool or measure to ensure better nutrition," he said. He added that while it would be great to have free school meals for everyone, rich and poor, "we must always make sure that the children who need school meals the most get them free."
While school meals and health policy are issues that concern each EU country, Franco points out that, according to the European Child Guarantee adopted two years ago, the bloc's members must address child poverty and social exclusion, as well as basic rights such as health. and education... One of the main objectives of the guarantee is “free education (including school lessons and at least one healthy meal every school day).
Franco and his colleagues say failure to act now will only cause health problems for countless people and increase costs for taxpayers in the future. The online petition "Healthy school meals for all children in all schools", presented to MEPs in Brussels on Tuesday, has collected nearly 55,000 signatures.