Foodservice – Page 2 – Sustainability

The Role of School Feeding (Meal) Programs in Alleviating Hunger and Building Sustainable Food Systems (2024)

These slides are from a 2024 webinar that was conducted by Christine McCullum-Gómez, PhD, RDN, who is a Food and Nutrition Consultant in Bogotá, Colombia. At the time she was Chair-Elect of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Global Member Interest Group (GMIG).

The webinar includes ways to build Sustainable Food Systems through School Meals programs, such as fostering agrobiodiversity, indigenous systems, and agroecology. There are several resources from the School Meals Coalition, along with practical steps, including examples from various locations around the world.

Webinar Learning Objectives:

Identify three benefits of school feeding programs;
Explain how school feeding programs can be applied to alleviate hunger and contribute to building a sustainable food system;
List the roles and responsibilities of nutrition and dietetics practitioners in developing and evaluating sustainability-oriented school feeding programs.

Presentation Outline:

School Meal Programmes: UN World Food Programme (WFP)
School Feeding Programs: Benefits/Potential Benefits
Interculturalism and Differentiated School Feeding Programs: Climate Resilience and Food Security
School Feeding Programs: Challenges
School Meals Coalition: An Overview
School Meals and Food Systems: Consequences for Climate, Environment, Biodiversity and Food Sovereignty
Sustainable School Feeding Programs in Low-Income Countries: Planet-Friendly School Meals
Sustainable School Feeding Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
International School Meals Day: March 14, 2024
Nutrition and Dietetics Practitioners: Roles and Responsibilities in Sustainable School Feeding
School Feeding Programs: Additional Resources

Contacts:

Website: www.sustainablerdn.com
Blog: www.sustainable-rdn.com
Email: chris_mccullum@hotmail.com, cmccullumgomez@gmail.com
Instagram: @cmccullumgomez

HEAL Food Alliance (website)

The Health, Environment, Agriculture, and Labor (HEAL) Food Alliance was born out of the understanding that no single individual, organization, or sector can transform food and farm systems in isolation. HEAL Food Alliance believes that true transformation requires diverse skills, roles, resources, and collective organizing for real and lasting change.

Today, HEAL is a national, multi-sector, multi-racial coalition of 55 member organizations that collectively represent more than 2 million people — including rural and urban farmers, ranchers, fishers, farm and food chain workers, Indigenous groups, scientists, public health advocates, policy experts, community organizers, and activists.

Together, these members are building a powerful movement to transform food and farm systems away from extractive economic models and toward community control, care for the land, thriving local economies, dignified labor, and healthy communities nationwide. In doing so, HEAL advances the sovereignty and well-being of all living beings.

HEAL’s mission is to build collective power to create food and farm systems that are healthy for families, accessible and affordable for all communities, and fair to the working people who grow, distribute, prepare, and serve food — while protecting the air, water, and land on which everyone depends.

HEAL’s vision is that all people and all communities have the right and the means to produce, procure, prepare, share, and eat food that is both nutritionally and culturally appropriate, free from exploitation of themselves or others, and aligned with a harmonious relationship with the rest of the natural world.

HEAL’s 10-Point Platform for Real Food expresses the belief that food is humanity’s most intimate and powerful connection to one another, to culture, and to the earth. To transform the food system is to take a powerful step toward healing bodies, economies, and the environment.

Crafted by HEAL members, the Platform serves as both a call to action and a political compass for transformation. The 10-Point Platform represents the bedrock of HEAL’s principles and the policy goals it actively pursues. It is a roadmap — a shared path toward a future that truly nourishes health, economies, and the environment.

For more details, you can download the whole document on their website.

Economy

1 – Dignity for Food Workers

2 – Opportunity for All Producers

3 – Fair & Competitive Markets

4 – Resilient Regional Economies

Health

5 – Dump the junk

6 – Increase Food Literacy & Transparency

7 – Real Food in Every Hood

Environment

8 – Phase Out Factory Farming

9 – Promote Sustainable Farming, Fishing, & Ranching

10 – Close the Loop on Waste, Runoff, & Energy

updated 2026 January

Collaborative co-design for local blue food system transformation: the practicalities and challenges of the UK’s (FoodSEqual) ‘Plymouth Fish Finger’ pilot study (2025, Accepted Manuscript)

Hunt, L., Pettinger, C., Tsikritzi, R., & Wagstaff, C. (2025). Collaborative co-design for local blue food system transformation: The practicalities and challenges of the UK’s (FoodSEqual) “Plymouth Fish Finger” pilot study. Environmental Research: Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/ae1f1c (Open Access, Accepted Manuscript)

Abstract

Purpose: UK food system transformation is urgently needed but blue foods (e.g. fish) have been only minimally part of this discourse. Informed by community action research in a UK southwest coastal city, fish was identified as a food commodity for food system innovation, leading to local collaborative ‘co-design’ of an iconic British food. The ‘Plymouth Fish Finger’ pilot assessed the practicalities and challenges of this social innovation and its provision into the school meal system.

Design: Exploratory creative mixed methods mapped the journey of the Fish Finger as a social innovation. Methods drew on ‘co-production’ approaches, involving Community Food Researchers (CFR), co-design with secondary school students, expert fish/school stakeholder consultations, educational pop-up taste tests in primary schools, processual observations and fieldnote reflections. Descriptive statistics and participatory analyses provided quantitative and qualitative insights respectively.

Findings: Taste testing with schools and communities showed positive sensory and educational attributes. Participatory analyses resulted in five core themes:
i) ‘Supply’ – disrupting traditional supply chains;
ii) ‘Environmental benefits’ – reduced impact of small vessels;
iii) ‘Processing’ – making an appealing product;
iv) ‘Education’ – the value of educational input; and
v) ‘Upscaling and legacy’ – routes to possible future expansion.
An underpinning category was also constructed – ‘Pride and identity meets reality’, which illuminates pride in the product and the imperative of its economic viability.

Originality: This small-scale exploratory pilot study forged relationships between academics, communities, fishing industry stakeholders, schools, and school meal providers. It successfully built the concept of a community-led fish finger social innovation, advocating for collaborative action towards (blue) food system transformation. This paper offers insights and recommendations for research, policy, and practice, which exemplify the complex interplay between factors driving distortions in access to and availability of fish within the local food system

2025 December: When the Accepted Manuscript is finalized this figure will be updated.

updated 2025 December

Mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in planet-friendly school meals for children: a scoping review (2025 Nov)

*Distribution of evidence from the 124 articles on home grown school meals or school garden interventions, or both, with labels showing the number of articles per country.*

Estrada-Carmona, N., Hunter, D., Samrat, S., & Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition. (2025). Mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in planet-friendly school meals for children: A scoping review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 9(11), 101374. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(25)00252-9[1]

The global shift away from healthy, diverse, and sustainable diets threatens children’s health and futures. Although school gardens and home-grown school meals can reconnect children with nutritious, sustainably produced food, these interventions are often implemented separately and with little attention to agrobiodiversity, which is a cornerstone for sustainability and healthy diets.

Via a scoping review of 124 articles from 35 countries, we identified wide-ranging and complementary benefits of these interventions beyond health and education. The benchmark of the species used in these interventions against cultivated, predicted, and listed edible plants shows that agrobiodiversity is underused.

Despite fragmented and incomplete evidence, our research shows that these interventions can jointly drive profound transformation. Realising this potential demands systemic shifts toward holistic, rights-based approaches that overcome surmountable barriers and build objective, sustainable, and resilient food systems delivering planet-friendly school meals.

Contributed by Christine McCullum-Gomez, PhD, RDN

updated 2025 December

International cooperation for the right to school meals: A contribution from Brazilian civil society (2025)

Citation: Schwartzman, F., & Santarelli, M. (2025). International cooperation for the right to school meals: A contribution from Brazilian civil society (P. Biondi, L. de Lima Cunha, & N. Etienne, Contributors; J. May, Translator) (1st ed.). FIAN Brasil. https://alimentacaoescolar.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/InternationalCooperationForTheRightToSchoolMeals.pdf

The resource “International cooperation for the right to school meals: a contribution from Brazilian civil society” is highly relevant to dietitians and nutritionists working on sustainable food systems, as it presents a comprehensive case study of Brazil’s National School Meals Program (Pnae), one of the oldest and most robust universal school meals policies globally.

This resource highlights the integration of principles of the human right to adequate food and nutrition into school meals programs, emphasizing fresh, minimally processed foods, restrictions on ultra-processed products, and prioritization of local family farming to promote sustainable and healthy food environments. It underscores the importance of multi-sectoral coordination, social participation, and intersectorality, which are key for dietitians and nutritionists aiming to strengthen sustainable food systems through public policies.

The document also addresses challenges such as food industry conflicts of interest and stresses the role of food and nutrition education as a pillar of fostering better food choices and sustainable food culture in schools. This aligns with dietitians and nutritionists’ roles in advocating for food quality, nutrition security, cultural appropriateness, environmental sustainability, and transparency in food procurement and education within food systems.

updated 2025 Nov

Mexican Dietary Guidelines (2025)

Mexico launches new Dietary Guidelines with a sustainability lens 🌱 by Cecilia De Bustos, UNICEF Mexico:

On 2025 October 16, the Government of Mexico officially launched the second edition of the Dietary Guidelines for the Mexican Population 2025–2030, a milestone in public health and food systems transformation for Mexico. These guidelines are not just about what we eat—they are a call to action for a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable future.

UNICEF México is proud to have provided technical support in the development of these guidelines, alongside the Ministry of Health, INSP, FAO and many other stakeholders. This collaborative effort reflects a shared commitment to improving nutrition while protecting our planet.

🌍 What makes these guidelines groundbreaking?

✅ They promote environmentally friendly dietary patterns, including breastfeeding and the consumption of local, seasonal, and plant-based foods.
✅ They adopt a sustainable food systems approach, considering the entire food chain—from production to consumption—with a focus on sustainable agriculture and responsible supply chains.
✅ They call for the reduction of food waste, both at home and across the supply chain.
✅ They support the consumption of foods that preserve biodiversity and natural resources, including water and soil.
✅ They value traditional food practices and promote diets that are culturally appropriate, accessible, and equitable for all.

🌽 The guidelines also celebrate the Dieta de la Milpa—a traditional Mexican dietary pattern —as a model for healthy, sustainable eating.

Food Guide for Colombia: biodiversity, identity, and health at the table (2025)

English Translation by Christine McCullum-Gomez, PhD, RDN, Bogota, Colombia

In 2025, the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) and the University of Antioquia presented the Dietary Guide for the Colombian Population based on Biodiversity and Real Food. This document is not a single recipe or just another technical manual: it is the result of a participatory process with communities from the country’s 13 food-related territories—from the Amazon to the Caribbean, including the Pacific, the Llanos, and the Andean region.

The guide was developed through knowledge-sharing dialogues with farmers, Indigenous communities, Afro-Colombian communities, Raizal communities, Palenquera communities, and urban families. This approach allowed for the collection of ancestral knowledge, culinary practices, and diverse nutritional realities, recognizing that Colombia is not only a megadiverse country in terms of ecosystems, but also in cuisines, flavors, and ways of relating to food.

Traditionally, dietary guidelines have been based on universal parameters that prioritize nutrients and calories, but overlook the cultural, social, and environmental context. The new Colombian proposal innovates by incorporating the NOVA classification, which differentiates foods according to their level of processing, highlighting the importance of preferring fresh and real products over ultra-processed ones.

Furthermore, it introduces crucial topics such as:

– Food sovereignty: the right of peoples to decide what to eat and how to produce it.

– Agroecology and sustainability: the relationship between biodiversity, water, and responsible production systems.

– Public health: recommendations for addressing growing problems such as obesity, malnutrition, and chronic diseases associated with the excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods.

– Food governance: strategies that go beyond the kitchen and involve public policies, equitable access to food, and the protection of native seeds.

The value of this guide lies in its practical utility and local relevance. For families, it offers clear guidance on which foods to prioritize in their daily diet, how to revive traditional recipes, and how to identify ultra-processed products that should be reduced. For communities, it represents recognition of their knowledge and the importance of keeping their culinary traditions alive.

In the Amazon, the consumption of native fruits, roots, and local fish is promoted.

In the Andean region, dishes based on potatoes, corn, and quinoa are being revived.

On the Caribbean Coast, fish, seafood, and coconut-based combinations are valued.

On the Pacific Coast, traditional Afro-Colombian dishes are being strengthened with an emphasis on fresh, locally sourced products.

For decision-makers, this guide also offers data on the population’s energy and nutritional needs by region, environmental indicators such as carbon and water footprints, and proposals for integrating food considerations into public policies.

In a country with high levels of food inequality, this guide aims to become an instrument for social transformation. Its importance transcends individual nutrition: it strengthens cultural identity, boosts the local economy, protects biodiversity, and proposes solutions to the challenges of climate change. Ultimately, the Colombian Population’s Food Guide based on Biodiversity and Real Food invites all Colombians to rediscover the richness of their land and to make conscious choices that benefit their health and the planet.

2025 November

EU Criteria for Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) for Food, Food services, and Vending machines (2025)

The European Commission aims to reduce the environmental and climate impact of the EU food system while cultivating a prosperous agricultural and food sector for future generations. This commitment is outlined in the European Green Deal and reaffirmed in the Vision for Agriculture and Food adopted on February 19, 2025. A key action in this vision is to enhance the role of public procurement for food.

Incorporating sustainability aspects in public food procurement implies a comprehensive understanding of food systems, addressing environmental impacts, public health, social benefits as well as competitiveness and innovation. Public authorities need to procure food and services that offer the best value for money, while also balancing these sustainability objectives. Criteria to be included in public tenders thus need to be drafted strategically, also accounting for specific market conditions.

This report presents potential sustainability criteria for public procurement of food, food services, and vending machines, serving as inspiration for public authorities who want to offer healthy and sustainable food and wish to reward sustainability efforts by European farmers, the food industry, and service providers in their procurement projects. The criteria are presented as a comprehensive list encompassing the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic.

Competent authorities and contracting entities have the option to voluntarily incorporate these sustainability criteria into tenders, adapting them when necessary to meet specific priorities and needs. When appropriate, the criteria are accompanied by concrete examples of sustainable public procurement to illustrate their application in practical contexts.

Citation: GARCIA HERRERO, L., PEREZ CORNAGO, A., CASONATO, C., SARASA RENEDO, A., BAKOGIANNI, I. et al., Criteria for Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) for Food, Food services, and Vending machines, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2025, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/0895877, JRC139495.

2025 November

Dietary Recommendations for the Belgian Population (2025)

Eating healthier means living longer. The Belgian Superior Health Council, therefore, drew up an evidence-based advisory report with new dietary recommendations. The environmental portion of the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines emphasizes that healthy eating also means adopting environmentally responsible dietary patterns that consider sustainability throughout the food system, promote more plant-based diets, reduce food loss and waste, and support inclusive, socially just food initiatives. It recognizes the importance of collective efforts and cultural diversity in fostering sustainable and equitable food systems.

This advice consists of three parts:

Part 1 – dietary recommendations
Part 2 – other aspects of the relationship between diet and health
Part 3 – energy and nutrients needed to avoid deficiencies or toxicity (in development)

Below are some insights extracted from Part 2:

5.1 Healthy and environmentally responsible dietary patterns

The following key points are further detailed in the document:

To recommend a “healthy and environmentally responsible dietary pattern” at the population level, sustainability and environmental and climate impacts also need to be considered, which means that production, marketing, distribution, and preparation, as well as economic factors, also have to be taken into account.

Think of collectives that promote inclusive initiatives linked to organic agriculture, short food supply, sustainability, and social justice, where food restores more symmetrical relationships (e.g. intercultural food encounters as a space for empowerment and better mutual understanding

Switching to a “healthy, environmentally-responsible dietary pattern” that is more plant-based has a positive environmental effect.

Reduce/avoid/eliminate food loss (e.g. food production, transport) & waste (e.g. processing, consumption)

5.2 Social aspects of dietary guidelines

Three broad areas are recommended and detailed in the document:

Acknowledge Culinary Capital as the foundation for dietary change

Celebrate Commensality: a diverse, lifelong and inclusive dietary practice

The right to food variety is a universal human right

2025 November

Seven Strategies for Advancing Sustainable Dietary Patterns: Leverage Points for Nutrition and Dietetics Professionals (2025)

The Seven Strategies for Advancing Sustainable Dietary Patterns: Leverage Points for Nutrition and Dietetics Professionals synthesises the peer-reviewed evidence and grey literature to outline seven evidence-based leverage points for D-N practitioners, providing them with guidance to make food systems more sustainable.

This list is by no means comprehensive, but rather guided by practical application to nutrition and dietetics, they are:
1 – Fiscal Drivers,
2 – Front-of-Pack Food Labelling,
3 – Institutional Food Policies,
4 – Catering at Institutions,
5 – Retail-Level Marketing,
6 – Communication and Social Marketing, and
7 – Food Literacy.

Download the report here: Seven Strategies for Advancing Sustainable Dietary Patterns: Leverage Points for Nutrition and Dietetics Professionals (2025) Download PDF

Citation: Carlsson, L., Wegener, J., Everitt, T., Srinivasan, S., Engel, K. (2025). Seven Strategies for Advancing Sustainable Dietary Patterns: Leverage Points for Nutrition and Dietetics Professionals. Report. Acadia University, Toronto Metropolitan University, St. Francis Xavier University, Canada.

*This graphic summarises the actions and examples from the seven strategies.*

updated Nov 2025