9 Benefits of Introducing Free School Lunches 🍝
This week, a public expert discussion took place in the Bundestag focusing on the first recommendation from the Citizens' Council on Nutrition (Bürgerrat für Ernährung), which advocated for "Free Lunches for All Children". Scientists and representatives from associations, cities, and the Citizens' Council addressed questions from various parliamentary groups. The result was a long list of positive outcomes, which have already been shown in other countries. Here is a quick summary.
The introduction of free school lunches for kids:
💪 Makes a significant contribution to health promotion.
👩⚕️ Can reduce the long-term risk of certain diseases.
🏫 Improves the school environment as communal eating enhances cohesion, social integration, and can even reduce aggression levels.
👫 Helps to balance social injustices, giving children from socio-economically disadvantaged families access to balanced, healthy meals.
🧠 Can immediately benefit cognitive performance and concentration, positively impacting overall educational levels and students achievements.
👨👩👧👦 Relieves families financially as well as reduces their work, time, and care efforts.
🥗 Can lead to an improvement in food quality through the introduction of mandatory standards.
🍽 Shapes healthy eating habits and preferences over the long term and serves as a model for nutritional education.
💰 Serves as a preventive measure that can reduce long-term healthcare costs.
Although everyone agreed on the benefits, several concerns about the implementation were raised. Primary among these were financing issues, as well as structural problems like the lack of facilities, specialized staff, or clear responsibilities between federal and state governments, and an increase in food waste.
📝 Stephanie Wunder concluded with a plan for implementation. A phased introduction would not only reduce initial costs but also provide important learnings for future implementation. Pilot studies could initiate this, filling the current data gap for Germany and providing valuable information for execution.
Link to entire session in the comments ⬇
#freeschoollunch #BürgerratErnährung #Ernährungsstrategie
International Affairs Professional
1moYou are so sweet