Public procurement of food for health : technical report on the school setting

Childhood and adolescence are periods of development when establishing healthful diet and lifestyle habits is essential. A look at the current prevalence rates of overweight (approx. 15%) and obesity (approx. 5%) among children and youths in the EU shows an urgent need for improvement. Considering the amount of time that children spend at school, as well as the fact that in many European countries students consume at least one daily main meal there, schools are an ideal environment for supporting healthy behaviours. It is laudable that all EU Member States have school food policies and guidelines in place to define healthy diets and nutritious food offerings. The implementation of such policies through a procurement process for school food that is health-sensitive can have a number of both short- and long-term benefits. These include improved student health and performance at school, increased societal awareness about the links between food and health, and reduced healthcare costs. It can also help steer the market and create economies of scale and spill-over effects in other sectors or age groups. Benefits of public procurement of food for health - Increased availability and accessibility to nutritious and safe food - Improved dietary habits and reduced incidence of childhood obesity and overweight - Positive effects on school attendance and performance - Minimisation of health inequalities - Development of health-minded children and schools.